Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW) declined after it reported second-quarter results. Despite solid earnings per share and revenue, growth rates disappointed investors.
Edwards Lifesciences reported second-quarter sales that were slightly above consensus at $1.53 billion. At $0.66, EPS topped consensus by a penny.
The company expects full year 2023 sales to be between $5.9B and $6.1B. For the year, the company expects transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) sales growth to be in the 10% to 13% range.
Commenting on the quarter, Bernstein said, “Q2 growth rates were okay but disappointing vs. buy-side expectations. Until we see a return to the kind of growth investors had come to expect from EW, we don't believe the stock can maintain a 6- to 9-turn PE premium over stocks like [Stryker] and [Boston Scientific], particularly while SYK and BSX are delivering strong growth and making progress on exciting pipelines.”
“Overall, EW’s 2Q print and updated 2023 guide came in more or less as expected and reflective of continued recovery across geographies – with the exception of Japan where 2Q Sapien was once gain light – and post the quarter, our investment thesis is firmly intact," said Deutsche Bank.
Wedbush also commented on the stock, saying “…we believe the lack of a strong beat this quarter in TAVR will likely pressure the stock in the near term. From our perspective, the result and commentary was solid and we would not over-read one quarter. As underlying market dynamics continue to improve in the coming quarters, we believe TAVR growth will remain in the double-digit-plus range for several years to come.”
Shares of Edwards Lifesciences declined by over 8% after publishing its quarterly update. The stock is higher by about 12.5% year-to-date.