Edwards Lifesciences TAVR data better than expected, says Citi

Citi analyst Joanne Wuensch keeps a Buy rating on Edwards Lifesciences (EW) with an $81 price target after the company presented its EARLY TAVR clinical data, saying it came in better than expected and demonstrated superiority of early transcatheter aortic valve replacement intervention compared to clinical surveillance. The 1:1 randomized trial met its primary endpoint, with 26.8% of patients in the TAVR arm experiencing death, stroke, or unplanned cardiovascular hospitalization compared to 45.3% of the clinical surveillance arm, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Additionally, the the data found that early intervention of TAVR prevented unpredictable and rapid progression of symptoms, prevented clinical meaningful and rapid decline in quality of life, and resulted in numerically lower rate of stroke for patients, contends Citi.