Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Canaccord Genuity Group Analyst Says

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) had its price objective hoisted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $63.00 to $68.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the medical research company’s stock.

EW has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $83.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.35.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EW opened at $71.53 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.52. Edwards Lifesciences has a 52-week low of $58.93 and a 52-week high of $96.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 70.82%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.91, for a total transaction of $1,647,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 198,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,084,848.66. This represents a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.57, for a total transaction of $327,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,077,593.52. This trade represents a 9.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $2,657,000 in the last ninety days. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 2.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,196,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $83,282,000 after purchasing an additional 27,193 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 108.0% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 293,758 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,385,000 after buying an additional 152,539 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 39,532 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management boosted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 7,012 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 147.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 5,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

About Edwards Lifesciences

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.