Why Edwards Lifesciences Stock Plummeted Today By Eric Volkman –...

Why Edwards Lifesciences Stock Plummeted Today
By Eric Volkman – Oct 26, 2023 at 6:15PM
KEY POINTS

• 
  The maker of medical devices posted third-quarter results that broadly met analyst expectations.
• 
  That wasn't the reason for the resulting investor sell-off, however.
• 
  Motley Fool Issues Rare “All In” Buy Alert

NYSE: EW

Edwards Lifesciences


Market Cap
$39B

Today's Change

(-1.70%) -$1.07
Current Price
$61.71
Price as of October 27, 2023, 4:00 p.m. ET


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Investors trade on potential rather than trailing results, and they found the company's top-line guidance wanting.

Although Edwards Lifesciences (EW -1.70%) performed more or less in line with analyst expectations in its most recently completed quarter, the company's guidance left something to be desired. Unfortunately for the medical device maker, its third-quarter earnings release dropped on a very bearish day for the market.
As a result, unforgiving investors punished it by knocking its stock price down by over 8%.
Third-quarter sales were up, but adjusted earnings were down

Edwards posted its third-quarter earnings after market close on Wednesday, receiving investor blowback the following day.
For the quarter, the specialty healthcare company's sales rose 12% year over year to hit $1.48 billion. Adjusted net income went in the other direction, slipping by 6% to a bit under $361 million ($0.59 per share). Both key metrics were essentially in line with analyst projections.
Commenting on the quarter's performance while gazing into his crystal ball, Edwards CEO Bernard Zovighian said, "The increasing demand for our advanced technologies, coupled with the successful execution of our innovation strategy, gives us confidence in the tremendous opportunity to address unmet patient needs and drive differentiated long-term value."

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NYSE: EW

Edwards Lifesciences
Today's Change
(-1.70%) -US$1.07
Current Price
US$61.71

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PRICEVS S&P

EW
KEY DATA POINTS

Market Cap
$39B
Day's Range
US$61.01 - US$64.15
52wk Range
US$61.01 - US$94.87
Volume
7,053,924
Avg Vol
3,879,627
Gross Margin
76.43%
Dividend Yield
N/A
Top-line guidance fell short

As any stock investor can attest, however, trailing financial results matter less than a company's future. Edwards maintained its full-year sales guidance, which calls for a 10% to 13% increase over the 2022 tally of $5.38 billion. Adjusted per-share earnings should come in at $2.50 to $2.60.
Drilling down to forecasts for its current (fourth) quarter, Edwards believes its sales will ring up at $1.45 billion to $1.53 billion, with adjusted net income of $0.60 to $0.66 per share. The sales range, though, is under the analyst consensus of $1.54 billion.