Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.40.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EW. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa America downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Thursday, September 12th.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock opened at $73.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Edwards Lifesciences has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $96.12. The company has a market cap of $43.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.71.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.67. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. Edwards Lifesciences’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.91, for a total value of $1,647,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 198,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,084,848.66. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total transaction of $347,550.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,262,521.36. This trade represents a 9.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,500 shares of company stock worth $2,508,350. 1.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 138.7% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 31.1% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

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.