StockNews.com Upgrades Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) to Buy

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on EW. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.71.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock traded down $0.48 on Monday, reaching $85.95. 2,931,204 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,839,852. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.05, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.05. Edwards Lifesciences has a twelve month low of $60.57 and a twelve month high of $96.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 23.01% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.29, for a total value of $567,993.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,506,925.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, SVP Robert W.A. Sellers sold 12,210 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.00, for a total value of $1,062,270.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,087 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,569. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.29, for a total transaction of $567,993.95. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 19,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,506,925.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 194,004 shares of company stock valued at $17,166,254. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EW. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 1,224.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,610,412 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $123,261,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488,791 shares during the period. Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 158.2% in the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 91,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,970,000 after buying an additional 56,000 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 5,092.4% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 12,306 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 12,069 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP raised its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 83.3% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,496 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 2,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HealthInvest Partners AB acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at $1,587,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of aortic heart valves under the Edwards SAPIEN family of valves system; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband names.