Barclay’s, the British investment bank, downgraded Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) shares last week, saying the market for transcatheter aortic valve replacement devices might not be as robust as the company hopes.
Edwards is ahead in the race to bring an artificial aortic replacement valve to the U.S. market with its Sapien device. But the company has received mixed messages from Wall Street, with some analysts downgrading Edwards’ stock and others more bullish on its prospects.
Barclay’s downgraded EW shares from “overweight” to “equal weight” Sept. 23, on fears that the stock will be volatile should the FDA clear the device as expected this fall. The bank also lowered its price target from $95 to $85 for EW shares.
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“Net-net, while we continue to be positive on the long-term potential of the TAVR market, we think that the market could be slower to develop and upcoming risks could cause the stock to retrace,” the analysts wrote, according to StreetInsider.com.
Analysts at Rodman & Renshaw are also bearish on EW shares. Last month that firm downgraded the stock from a “market perform” rating to “underperform” in a research note to investors. The investment bank put a $66.00 target on the stock, which opened at $77.89 yesterday. Rodman & Renshaw’s price targets are significantly lower than other analysts’ forecasts on The Street. Morgan Keenan upgraded EW shares to “outperform” from “market perform” with a target price of $97.00 yesterday. And last week, Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its “neutral” rating on the stock with a target of $99.00.
EW shares were up slightly this morning as of about 10 a.m., trading around the $75 mark.
