Edwards Lifesciences stock surged Friday after the medtech giant hiked its 2025 outlook following a key setback for rival Boston Scientific.
In May, Boston Sci pulled its transcatheter aortic heart-valve replacement, or TAVR, business from Europe after a U.S. study of its device failed. TAVR is a nonsurgical means of replacing a faulty aortic heart valve. With one fewer rival on the market, Edwards raised the floor of its guidance. The company expects total sales to grow 9% to 10%, with TAVR sales climbing 6% to 7%.
Leerink Partners analyst Mike Kratky says the guidance looks "comfortably achievable." But it's not enough to warrant an upgrade, he said in a report.
Still, on today's stock market, Edwards Lifesciences stock jumped 5.5% to close at 80. That put shares back in a buy zone above an entry at 78.75 out of a flat base. The buy zone runs up to 82.69, according to MarketSurge.
Edwards Lifesciences Stock: Rebalancing Market Share
In total, Edwards Lifesciences earned an adjusted 67 cents per share on $1.53 billion in sales. Earnings fell more than 4% year over year, but sales climbed 11.9%. On an adjusted basis, sales rose 10.6%.
TAVR sales grew 8.9% — or 7.8% in constant currency — to $1.1 billion. The company noted its Sapien platform is the only TAVR approved for asymptomatic patients in the U.S. and Europe.
"Clinicians continue to adopt Edwards' best-in-class SAPIEN technology," Edwards said in its release. "In the U.S., the clinical conversations around the EARLY TAVR trial data are bringing a renewed focus to streamlining the management of patients with severe aortic stenosis, enabling closer follow-up and more timely treatment of patients with aortic stenosis."
Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Kumar noted Edwards still isn't seeing a lot of asymptomatic patients with aortic stenosis coming in for a TAVR procedure. But William Blair analyst Brandon Vazquez expects asymptomatic patients to ramp up in the coming quarters. Further, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could begin reimbursing TAVR procedures for these patients.
That "may serve as a meaningful tailwind for Edwards and help improve hospital workflows and alleviate certain capacity constraints," Vazquez said in a report.
Edwards didn't name Boston Sci by name, but said the edit of a competitor in Europe ended in a "rebalancing of market share and a modest contribution to Edwards' sales."
The transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies division, which focuses on replacing other diseased heart valves, brought in $134.5 million in sales, up 61.9% year over year. Sales of surgical heart-valve replacements climbed 7.7% to $267 million.
In addition to its hiked sales guidance, Edwards expects adjusted earnings to come in at the high end of its outlook for $2.40 to $2.50 per share. Analysts projected earnings of $2.47 a share.
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