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Edwards Lifesciences Hits a 52-Week High on Solid Prospects

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On Sep 6, shares of Edwards Lifesciences (EW - Free Report) reached a new 52-week high of $228.19, closing the session marginally lower at $226.29. The rally was fueled by the recent release of impressive results.

Edwards Lifesciences had a great run on the bourses in the past year. The stock has returned 68% compared to the broader industry’s decline of 4%

Considering this, one may expect the company to scale new highs in the upcoming quarters. Further, the company has average positive earnings surprise of 4.3% for the trailing four quarters. A positive growth rate of 10.7% for the next year also instills optimism.

Estimate revision trends for the current year look impressive. In the past two months, ten estimates have moved north, while two have moved in the opposite direction.

Factors Driving Edwards Lifesciences

Let’s take a look at the growth propellers.

Regulatory Go-Aheads: Market is upbeat about Edwards Lifesciences’ receipt of FDA approval in August 2019 for expanding the use of its flagship SAPIEN 3 and SAPIEN 3 Ultra transcatheter heart valve systems to treat severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis in patients who face a low risk of open-heart surgery.The company also received FDA approval for CLASP IIF, a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled pivotal trial studying the PASCAL system.

Strategic Acquisition: Investors have been optimistic about Edwards Lifesciences’ prospects since the global major closed the deal to acquire CAS Medical Systems (CASMED) in April 2019. The latter is a medical technology company which specializes in non-invasive brain and tissue oxygenation monitoring.

Positive Outcomes of Clinical Studies: In May 2019, the company released favorable six-month data outcomes from the CLASP study of its PASCAL transcatheter valve repair system. This has also lifted the share price.

Zacks Rank & Stocks Worth a Look

Edwards Lifesciences carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A few better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Medtronic (MDT - Free Report) , Baxter (BAX - Free Report) and NuVasive , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Medtronic’s long-term earnings growth rate is expected at 7.13%.

Baxter’s long-term earnings growth rate is projected at 12.8%.

NuVasive’s long-term earnings growth rate is expected to be 12.75%

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