Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the NYSE over the last few months, increasing to US$123 at one point, and dropping to the lows of US$106. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Edwards Lifesciences' current trading price of US$116 reflective of the actual value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Edwards Lifesciences’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.
Is Edwards Lifesciences still cheap?
The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. I’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 48.84x is currently trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 50.36x, which means if you buy Edwards Lifesciences today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe that Edwards Lifesciences should be trading at this level in the long run, then there’s not much of an upside to gain over and above other industry peers. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that Edwards Lifesciences’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.
What kind of growth will Edwards Lifesciences generate?
Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Edwards Lifesciences' earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 23%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in EW’s positive outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at EW? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below the industry PE ratio?
Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on EW, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the optimistic forecast is encouraging for EW, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
Diving deeper into the forecasts for Edwards Lifesciences mentioned earlier will help you understand how analysts view the stock going forward. So feel free to check out our free graph representing analyst forecasts.
If you are no longer interested in Edwards Lifesciences, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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