What traded for $100 on Thursday now goes for about $50 as shares of Irvine-based heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp. underwent a 2-for-1 split Friday.
The move caps a big run-up in shares of Edwards, which are up about 60% in the past 12 months to a market value of nearly $6 billion.
Edwards has generated enthusiasm on Wall Street with a new type of heart valve that doesn’t require major surgery.
The company’s Sapien heart valve is inserted via a catheter. It and similar devices are seen as the biggest advance in heart valves in years and could open up the market to millions who aren’t candidates for major surgery.
Sean Lavin, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets LLC, calls Sapien and other catheter valves “one of the most compelling new medical technologies since the launch of robotic surgery.”
Edwards is in a major U.S. trial of Sapien and could see Food and Drug Administration approval late next year.
The device already is sold in Europe, where sales are small but fast growing.
The valve, which started selling in Europe in 2007, saw first-quarter sales there rise 60% from a year earlier to nearly $40 million.
Sapien is a fraction of Edwards’ $1.5 billion in yearly sales but is seen as becoming a bigger part of the company’s business.
Edwards and analysts have projected that catheter valves could see $2 billion in yearly sales by 2014.
The company now has about half of the early market in Europe, alongside rival Medtronic Inc. of Minnesota, which has played catch-up to Edwards.
