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Edwards Lifesciences (EW) Earnings Beat, Revenues Miss in Q3
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Edwards Lifesciences Corporation’s(EW - Free Report) third-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.07. Reported EPS was $1.06.
Adjusted EPS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02 by 4.9%. Moreover, adjusted earnings improved 27.4% year over year, primarily driven by strong sales growth at the transcatheter heart valves business and strength in the Critical Care segment.
Sales Details
Third-quarter sales improved 10.4% to $906.6 million but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $925 million by 2%. Underlying sales increased 10.8% (including the impact of Germany stocking sales as customers in the nation chose to purchase additional inventory of the SAPIEN 3 valve in anticipation of a potential supply interruption resulting from recent intellectual property litigation).
Revenues were primarily driven by considerable growth in transcatheter heart valve sales as well as strong performance by the Critical Care product line.
Segmental Details
In the third quarter, the company reported Transcatheter Heart Valve Therapy (THVT) sales of $557.8 million, reflecting 15.9% growth over the prior-year quarter. Globally, sales grew at a lower rate due to a modest year-over-year share decline internationally and lower royalty revenues. Notably, the projected worldwide TAVR procedures growth remained in the mid-teens. Edwards Lifesciences average selling price remained stable globally.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Surgical Heart Valve Therapy sales in the quarter totaled $184.6 million, down 5.6% from the prior-year quarter. Edwards Lifesciences continued to see solid uptake of its new premium aortic valves along with solid aortic unit volume. Further, the company recently initiated the launch of its INSPIRIS RESILIA aortic valve in Japan.
Critical Care sales totaled $164.2 million in the reported quarter, representing an increase of 13.5% from third-quarter 2017. The upside can be attributed to solid growth across all product categories, largely led by HemoSphere advanced monitoring platform supported by new group purchasing organization contracts in the United States.
Margins
In the third quarter, gross margin expanded 120 basis points (bps) to 75.2% owing to a more profitable product mix and absence of previous year’s Hurricane Maria-related expenses. However, this was partially offset by continued capacity-related expenses.
SG&A expenses rose 10.2% year over year to $269.5 million on account of sales and personnel-related expenses. R&D expenditures increased 13.25% year over year to $161.8 million owing to continued investments in the transcatheter aortic valve and mitral valve program along with expenditures on clinical trials. Accordingly, adjusted operating margin in the quarter expanded 70 bps to 27.6%.
Cash Position
Edwards Lifesciences exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $1.60 billion compared with $1.40 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2018. Long-term debt in the reported quarter totaled $593.6 million versus $438.4 million at the end of the preceding quarter.
Cash flow from operating activities was $342 million in the third quarter. Excluding capital spending of $85 million, free cash flow was $257 million. During the quarter, average diluted shares outstanding totaled 213.2 million.
2018 Guidance Intact
Edwards Lifesciences reiterated its 2018 adjusted EPS expectations in the $4.60-$4.75 range. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year adjusted EPS was $4.67, within the company’s guided range.
However, the company continues to maintain sales expectations at the high end of the projected range of $3.5-$3.9 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year revenues is pinned at $3.82 billion, within the guided range.
For the fourth quarter of 2018, the company projects sales between $950 million and $1 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $997.5 million, within the company’s estimated range. The company forecasts adjusted EPS between $1.05 and $1.20. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for adjusted EPS is at $1.21, which is above the company‘s projected range.
Our Take
Edwards Lifesciences exited the third quarter on a mixed note. Strong transcatheter valve sales in the domestic market as well as overseas are a major positive. Improving margins buoy optimism. We are also upbeat about the company raising the Critical Care guidance beyond the high end of its full-year guidance of 6-8%.
Meanwhile, management expects underlying sales growth in THVT for 2018 to remain at around 12.5% because of limited contribution from Cardioband and a newly-revised rollout strategy for SAPIEN 3 Ultra.
Also, tough competition in the cardiac devices market and reimbursement issues continue to raise concern.
Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
Edwards Lifesciences has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). A few other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Amedisys, Inc. (AMED - Free Report) , Baxter International Inc (BAX - Free Report) and Masimo Corporation (MASI - Free Report) .
Amedisys is expected to release third-quarter 2018 results on Oct 29. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for adjusted EPS is 79 cents and for revenues is $410.2 million. The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Baxter is expected to release third-quarter 2018 results on Oct 31. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is pegged at 74 cents and for revenues at $2.79 billion. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2.
Masimo is slated to release third-quarter 2018 results on Oct 31. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is pinned at 68 cents and for revenues at $206.3 million. The company is a Zacks #2 Ranked player.
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Edwards Lifesciences (EW) Earnings Beat, Revenues Miss in Q3
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation’s (EW - Free Report) third-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.07. Reported EPS was $1.06.
Adjusted EPS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02 by 4.9%. Moreover, adjusted earnings improved 27.4% year over year, primarily driven by strong sales growth at the transcatheter heart valves business and strength in the Critical Care segment.
Sales Details
Third-quarter sales improved 10.4% to $906.6 million but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $925 million by 2%. Underlying sales increased 10.8% (including the impact of Germany stocking sales as customers in the nation chose to purchase additional inventory of the SAPIEN 3 valve in anticipation of a potential supply interruption resulting from recent intellectual property litigation).
Revenues were primarily driven by considerable growth in transcatheter heart valve sales as well as strong performance by the Critical Care product line.
Segmental Details
In the third quarter, the company reported Transcatheter Heart Valve Therapy (THVT) sales of $557.8 million, reflecting 15.9% growth over the prior-year quarter. Globally, sales grew at a lower rate due to a modest year-over-year share decline internationally and lower royalty revenues. Notably, the projected worldwide TAVR procedures growth remained in the mid-teens. Edwards Lifesciences average selling price remained stable globally.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Edwards Lifesciences Corporation Quote
Surgical Heart Valve Therapy sales in the quarter totaled $184.6 million, down 5.6% from the prior-year quarter. Edwards Lifesciences continued to see solid uptake of its new premium aortic valves along with solid aortic unit volume. Further, the company recently initiated the launch of its INSPIRIS RESILIA aortic valve in Japan.
Critical Care sales totaled $164.2 million in the reported quarter, representing an increase of 13.5% from third-quarter 2017. The upside can be attributed to solid growth across all product categories, largely led by HemoSphere advanced monitoring platform supported by new group purchasing organization contracts in the United States.
Margins
In the third quarter, gross margin expanded 120 basis points (bps) to 75.2% owing to a more profitable product mix and absence of previous year’s Hurricane Maria-related expenses. However, this was partially offset by continued capacity-related expenses.
SG&A expenses rose 10.2% year over year to $269.5 million on account of sales and personnel-related expenses. R&D expenditures increased 13.25% year over year to $161.8 million owing to continued investments in the transcatheter aortic valve and mitral valve program along with expenditures on clinical trials. Accordingly, adjusted operating margin in the quarter expanded 70 bps to 27.6%.
Cash Position
Edwards Lifesciences exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $1.60 billion compared with $1.40 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2018. Long-term debt in the reported quarter totaled $593.6 million versus $438.4 million at the end of the preceding quarter.
Cash flow from operating activities was $342 million in the third quarter. Excluding capital spending of $85 million, free cash flow was $257 million. During the quarter, average diluted shares outstanding totaled 213.2 million.
2018 Guidance Intact
Edwards Lifesciences reiterated its 2018 adjusted EPS expectations in the $4.60-$4.75 range. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year adjusted EPS was $4.67, within the company’s guided range.
However, the company continues to maintain sales expectations at the high end of the projected range of $3.5-$3.9 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year revenues is pinned at $3.82 billion, within the guided range.
For the fourth quarter of 2018, the company projects sales between $950 million and $1 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $997.5 million, within the company’s estimated range. The company forecasts adjusted EPS between $1.05 and $1.20. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for adjusted EPS is at $1.21, which is above the company‘s projected range.
Our Take
Edwards Lifesciences exited the third quarter on a mixed note. Strong transcatheter valve sales in the domestic market as well as overseas are a major positive. Improving margins buoy optimism. We are also upbeat about the company raising the Critical Care guidance beyond the high end of its full-year guidance of 6-8%.
Meanwhile, management expects underlying sales growth in THVT for 2018 to remain at around 12.5% because of limited contribution from Cardioband and a newly-revised rollout strategy for SAPIEN 3 Ultra.
Also, tough competition in the cardiac devices market and reimbursement issues continue to raise concern.
Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
Edwards Lifesciences has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). A few other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Amedisys, Inc. (AMED - Free Report) , Baxter International Inc (BAX - Free Report) and Masimo Corporation (MASI - Free Report) .
Amedisys is expected to release third-quarter 2018 results on Oct 29. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for adjusted EPS is 79 cents and for revenues is $410.2 million. The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Baxter is expected to release third-quarter 2018 results on Oct 31. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is pegged at 74 cents and for revenues at $2.79 billion. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2.
Masimo is slated to release third-quarter 2018 results on Oct 31. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is pinned at 68 cents and for revenues at $206.3 million. The company is a Zacks #2 Ranked player.
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Here's another stock idea to consider. Much like petroleum 150 years ago, lithium power may soon shake the world, creating millionaires and reshaping geo-politics. Soon electric vehicles (EVs) may be cheaper than gas guzzlers. Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge.
With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply, one company stands out as the #1 stock to buy according to Zacks research.
It's not the one you think.
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