Boston Scientific’s Chief Says He Will Resign at Year’s End

The announcement led to speculation that the company, a medical device maker that has faced quality problems in recent years, was having additional difficulties.

Analysts said that Mr. Elliott, 61, may have found Boston Scientific’s problems to be daunting. “There was a lot of confidence placed in his ability to turn things around,” said Tim Nelson, an analyst with Nuveen Asset Management. “This is a tough business and I think it took longer than he thought it would.”

“The game has changed, and I think he got frustrated,” Mr. Nelson said. “He had a great career before he took on Boston Scientific.”

In a letter to employees, Mr. Elliott said the choice to retire was solely his and that it was the right time.

“Leaving too soon or staying too long are both problematic,” he wrote to employees.

Mr. Elliott will be part of a committee to find a replacement. Boston Scientific will be competing for talent with larger rival Medtronic, which is also searching for a chief executive.

Boston Scientific gave no solid reason for Mr. Elliott’s decision to step down, but quoted him as saying it was “time for me to permanently pass the baton to a long-term C.E.O.”

Mr. Elliott will remain on the board and stay on as chief executive until Dec. 31.

“I think this was a tougher job than he thought. I don’t see him up and quitting out of short-term frustration,” said Jeff Jonas, a portfolio manager with Gabelli Health and Wellness Trust Mutual. “Ray is very well respected on Wall Street and he has done a decent job stabilizing the company. He was dealt a tough hand.”

Boston Scientific shares, which nearly doubled in mid-2009 to a peak near $12 on high hopes for an turnaround, have been steadily retreating since then.

They closed down nearly 9 percent at $7.02 on Tuesday, after falling to $6.86 earlier in the day. The shares were among the most actively traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

“I have no reason to think there are ulterior motives,” Mr. Jonas said, “but there may be concern that there’s another shoe to drop, another quality issue coming and maybe that’s why the stock is down as much as it is.”

When Mr. Elliott became chief in July 2009, the company was still struggling to recover from highly publicized recalls of implantable cardioverter defibrillators and pacemakers as well as a large debt load from the acquisition of the Guidant Corporation in 2006.

Boston Scientific has struggled to grow in the face of stagnant demand in its two largest businesses, implantable cardioverter defibrillators and stents.