Edwards Lifesciences Says Delta Variant Drove Procedure Deferrals In Q3

Edwards Lifesciences Corp EW reported Q3 earnings of $340.1 million, or $0.54 per share, ahead of the consensus of $0.53.
Sales grew 15% to $1.31 billion; underlying sales grew 14%, slightly below the estimate of $1.32 billion.
Edwards reported TAVR sales of $858 million, +15% Y/Y. The company said that the procedures were negatively impacted in the last two months of Q3 due to a significant impact of the Delta variant on hospital resources.
The gross profit margin was 76.2%, compared to 75.4% a year ago.
Free cash flow for the third quarter was $471 million.
FY21 Outlook: Edwards Lifesciences reaffirms its FY21 EPS guidance at the high end of $2.07 - $2.27 (consensus $2.26), with sales outlook unchanged at $5.2 billion - $5.4 billion (consensus of $5.32 billion).
It expects Q4 sales of $1.30 billion - $1.38 billion (consensus of $1.41 billion), including TAVR sales of $850 million - $910 million.
EW forecasts adjusted EPS of $0.53 - $0.59 (consensus of $0.56).
Analyst reactions: Wells Fargo maintained EW stock with an Equal-Weight and raised the price target from $115 to $126.
Raymond James raised the price target from $122 to $127 and kept an Outperform rating.
Price Action: EW shares are down 1.51% at $114.31 on the last check Thursday.

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