UPDATE: JP Morgan Upgrades Edwards Lifesciences to Neutral

JP Morgan has published a research report on today on Edwards Lifesciences EW and has upgraded the company from Underweight to Neutral. In the report, JP Morgan writes, "The past year was a pivotal one for Edwards, as the company received FDA approval for its Sapien transcatheter valve and saw continued strong growth in its European TAVR business. The stock struggled, however, falling 12% (vs. a flat S&P 500) as the Street began to temper adoption expectations in the face of efforts by professional societies, the FDA, and CMS to ensure responsible dissemination of this breakthrough technology. In fact, since the Sapien FDA advisory panel on 7/20, EW shares are down 20% vs. a 5% drop for the market. With a second FDA panel, label expansion to include high-risk surgical candidates, and a national coverage decision (NCD) from CMS all expected in the next six months, 2012 promises to be just as eventful. However, while we continue to see risk to the regulatory process, particularly with regard to the approval of the transapical (TA) delivery option, EW shares have pulled back to the point that we view the risk/reward as balanced at current levels." JP Morgan has also raised the price target from $70 to $79 on Edwards Lifesciences, which is currently trading up $1.92 from Friday's $70.70 closing price.