Edwards Lifesciences Corp

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corp., an Irvine maker of cardiovascular disease treatments, hit a 52-week low of $12 a share during trading Wednesday as the stock continued to get pummeled two days after the company lowered its profit estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter. The stock ended the day at $13 a share, down 44 cents in New York Stock Exchange trading. Word of a favorable settlement in a patent infringement case apparently didn't rally investors.

An estimated 6.3 million Americans suffer from angina--a condition in which the heart fails to receive a sufficient amount of blood, sometimes causing severe pain. And 350,000 new cases occur each year, according to the American Heart Assn. Now, a heart laser made by PLC Medical Systems Inc. of Franklin, Mass., may reduce pain significantly for angina patients by creating tiny holes on the heart's surface, improving blood flow. Edwards Lifesciences Corp.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. said Monday that it is encouraging shareholders who own less than 100 shares of its stock to purchase additional shares to increase their holdings to 100 shares or to sell all of their shares. The Irvine maker of artificial heart valves said in a news release that the shares will be bought or sold on the open market through a designated broker. A processing fee of $1.50 a share, up to a maximum of $30 per account, will be charged.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. said it is realigning its organization in an effort to spur growth. The Irvine company, which makes products to treat cardiovascular disease, also said it remains "comfortable" with analysts' per-share earnings expectations for last year and 2001. A First Call/Thomson Financial survey of nine analysts produced a mean earnings estimate of 81 cents a share for the company in 2000, and 97 cents a share in 2001.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. in Irvine reported a 28.4% stake in PLC Systems Inc. as part of a marketing alliance with the Franklin, Mass., health services company. Edwards controls 8.3 million shares of PLC's common stock, according to a report filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In January, PLC said it received a $4-million equity investment from Edwards through the sale of 5.3 million shares of its common stock at 75 cents a share. PLC, which has about 23.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp., the No. 1 maker of heart valves made of animal tissue, said Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its valve made from cow tissue. Shares of the Irvine company, which was spun off from Baxter International Inc. in April, rose 1.94 to 26.25 after hitting a record $26.38 on the New York Stock Exchange earlier in the session.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp., shedding under-performing businesses and paying down its debts, said Monday that it has agreed to sell a surgical-services unit to a German company for $45 million. The Irvine maker of artificial heart valves said it is selling the medical-services business to Fresenius Medical Care to focus on its faster-growing heart valve business and other cardiovascular products.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp.'s minimally invasive heart valve kept 94% of patients alive a month after surgery, the best results yet for a technology that may grow into a $1.3-billion market for medical device makers. The death rate was half that in past studies of Sapien, a $30,000 valve that can be implanted without open-heart surgery. In another trial, closely held CoreValve Inc. reported a 93% survival rate after 30 days for its device.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp.'s stock was hammered Tuesday after the company lowered its profit estimates for the fourth quarter and 2001, citing a weak euro and sluggish sales in some product lines. Shares of the Irvine company, which makes products to treat cardiovascular disease, plummeted more than 41%, the fifth-largest percentage loss in U.S. markets for the day. The stock closed Tuesday at $13.44, down $9.50 a share, on the New York Stock Exchange.