Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) dipped below $70 per share, delighting one prominent Wall Street watcher but failing to thrill analysts at Piper Jaffray.
EW shares closed yesterday at $69.87, up slightly from the day before but still well shy of a 52-week high of $91.82. Share prices have slumped about 10 percent since last week, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid initiated a review of its coverage policy for Edwards’ Sapien transcatheter aortic valve implant. The Piper Jaffray researcher lowered their price target for the stock from $90 to $88.
“The last several days have been particularly tough for EW and its investors as CMS decided to state the obvious on its reimbursement process for percutaneous valves and the FDA decided not to break from its string of slow decisions, even at the risk of increased mortality rates," according to a research note sent to investors. "With uncertainty on launch date in the US, we are lowering our 2011 and 2012 estimates for EW as we now assume a November U.S. launch for Sapien. We believe much of the delay has already been incorporated into EW’s valuation, and thus maintain our Overweight rating." Lowering PT to $88 on lower CY12 EPS.”
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The dip below the $70 mark delighted Jim Cramer, host of the popular "Mad Money" show on CNBC.
"I can’t believe it went back under $70. It’s really terrific," Cramer said during an Oct. 3 "Lightning Round."
Syneron’s new low
Syneron Medical Ltd. (NSDQ:ELOS), the Israeli cosmetic device maker that acquired Candela Corp. last year, posted a 52-week low of $8.91 yesterday.
Last month, Syneron settled a patent spat with Palomar Medical Technologies (NSDQ:PMTI) it inherited in the $65 million Candela buyout.
The case dates back to a pair of patents Burlington, Mass.-based Palomar licensed from Mass. General Hospital in 1995 for light-based hair removal.
Palomar had accused Candela (and then Syneron) of willfully copying its technology. But in mid-September, Syneron and Palomar announced a deal that will see Yokneam, Israel-based Syneron dish out $31 million in up-front cash for the rights to the two patents in the case. Syneron will also pay out royalties on sales of “consumer home-use lamp-based hair removal products,” according to a press release.