Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, can I have your advice on whether to buy Edwards Lifesciences? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Edwards Lifesciences, $218.55, symbol EW on New York (Shares outstanding: 208.0 million; Market cap: $44.7 billion; www.edwards.com) is focused on technologies and products that treat structural heart disease and critically ill patients. The company operates in three segments: Transcatheter Heart Valves (62%), Surgical Heart Valve Therapy (20% of revenue) and Critical Care (18%). Edwards is a leader in a procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR. The procedure allows for patients with aortic stenosis to have a heart valve replaced via a catheter, thereby avoiding full open-heart surgery. That enables shorter recovery times, which is a clear benefit for patients. It also can result in lower total health-care costs since hospital stays are shorter. The pool of patients who could conceivably benefit is large: More than five million U.S. adults have aortic valve disease. TAVR isn’t a new procedure, but its availability to patients is expanding. Aortic stenosis typically occurs when calcium builds up on the valve, limiting the amount of blood…