Shares of Advanced Medical Optics Inc. climbed in Tuesday trading, a move one analyst attributed to the strength of the company's cataract implant business.

Advanced Medical Optics stock rose $1.08, or 22.1 percent, to $5.96 in midday trading. Shares traded close to $25 a year ago, but the sinking market for laser vision correction procedures has taken a toll on the stock over the last three months.

The move canceled out a 16-percent drop recorded on Monday.

According to Jefferies and Co. analyst Brian Kennedy, investors may be beginning to recognize the recession-resistant qualities of the cataract implant division, AMO's largest. He said Johnson & Johnson's buyout of breast implant maker Mentor Corp., announced Monday, "put some rational thought into the market place," reminding investors that companies exposed to elective procedures still have value, even if they are currently slumping.

"All these aesthetic companies were hit very similarly to Lasik companies," he said in a telephone interview. "Despite this exposure to an elective procedure, there's tremendous long-term value here."

Johnson & Johnson will pay $1.07 billion for Mentor, or $31 per share. That was nearly double the company's stock price when the offer was made.

In the third quarter, revenue from AMO's cataract business grew 9 percent to $129.4 million, or almost half its total sales. Revenue from the refractive care business, which sells laser vision correction systems and parts and performs maintenance, fell 14 percent to $96 million. The remainder of its revenue came from eye care products.

The cataract business, Kennedy said, "is much more resilient than it's given credit for by the market," and provides a valuable hedge from weakness in the Lasik market - protection that rival LCA-Vision Inc. lacks, in his opinion.

Advanced Medical Optics shares have now roughly doubled from their all-time low of $2.88, which they reached late in October. Kennedy believes the stock is worth more than $10 per share.

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