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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on EW. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a buy rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $95.06.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

EW opened at $93.34 on Thursday. Edwards Lifesciences has a 12-month low of $60.57 and a 12-month high of $96.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.75, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.23, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.11.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 23.01% and a return on equity of 22.86%. Equities analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.89, for a total value of $688,426.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,809,931.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, Director Michael A. Mussallem sold 29,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.42, for a total transaction of $2,712,527.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,486 shares in the company, valued at $414,596.12. The sale 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 Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.89, for a total value of $688,426.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,809,931.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 127,104 shares of company stock valued at $11,267,464. Insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Edwards Lifesciences

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EW. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by 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.