Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) is back in Wall Street’s good graces, with shares of the Irvine, Calif.-based heart valve maker approaching all time highs after nearly 2 years of down performance.
Shares of Edwards closed yesterday at $104.28 per share on The Street, marking a 52-week high and are up 55% through the first 9-months of the year. That’s the best the stock has performed since hitting an all time high of $108.45 in October 2012.
The California company has had a string of good news that propelled its share price this year, including regulatory wins that expanded its portfolio of Sapien THV devices. The company also resolved a long-running patent infringement battle with arch-rival Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) for $750 million.
Following the release of its 2nd quarter earnings results, Edwards increased its full year sales and earnings guidance to the high end of its previous $2.05-$2.25 billion range and per-share earnings of $3.24-$3.34, previously set at $3.10.
And this week, Leerink Partners analyst Danielle Antalff said Edwards was poised to take the lead in the transcatheter aortic valve market with its Sapient 3 replacement heart valve.
Writing this week in a note to investors following the annual London Valve meeting, Antalffy said physicians there surveyed as part of Leerink’s Medacorp program told her that the Sapien 3, notwithstanding newer TAVI offerings from rivals Medtronic, Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) and Direct Flow Medical.
Shares of Edwards were up another 2% in early trading Friday morning to $106.40.