Less than two years ago, in a move analysts called “surprising” and “abrupt,” Boston Scientific said Ray Elliott would take over as CEO. Today Elliott again surprised investors — by announcing his plans to retire at the end of the year . Boston Scientific shares fell on the news, and were down more than 9% to $6.99 in late trading. As the WSJ reports , hopes for the company’s turnaround — and improved earnings — were largely lodged with Elliott. (He was seen as a seasoned hand, having previously led Zimmer Holdings.) Jefferies analyst Raj Denjoy said his departure means that “the possibility of the upside materializing is decidedly lower.” J.P. Morgan’s Michael Weinstein called the news “a major disappointment for investors.” Forbes’s Matthew Herper writes that investors are left with uncertainty about what this means for the company’s revamp. Elliott tells the WSJ that his exit

was his own decision and that by the end of 2011, the restructuring plan he put in place — including investment in emerging technologies with potential for growth — will be mostly completed. “There’s not a single change in any of the plans” under way at the company, he says. But the paper notes that those plans could take years to bear fruit. The entire device sector has been dinged by the slow economy and sluggish growth in the well-established cardiac- and orthopedic-device markets. It also faces “long-term challenges such as more aggressive hospitals, which are buying out physician practices and weakening the price leverage device makers long wielded through device-choosing doctors,” the WSJ says. Elliott will be on the committee that will search for his successor. Any suggestions? Photo: Boston Scientific

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Boston Scientific’s Elliott Spooks Investors With Retirement