Shares of Irvine-based heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp. slumped Wednesday after an analyst downgraded the stock.
A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst cut his rating on Edwards from “conviction buy” to “neutral,” saying the stock already reflects that Edwards is “one of the most compelling growth stories” in medical technology.
Shares of Edwards closed down nearly 5% on a market value of $6 billion.
The analyst kept his 12-month price target on the stock at $60. Shares of Edwards closed at $52 on Wednesday.
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.
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.
