Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Trading 6.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) rose 6.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $68.81 and last traded at $68.57. Approximately 6,593,749 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 44% from the average daily volume of 4,565,157 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $103.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $83.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Daiwa America raised Edwards Lifesciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.27.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $41.29 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 2.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.66 and a 200 day moving average of $80.70.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 22.35% and a net margin of 24.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.77, for a total transaction of $333,850.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,133,916.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,250 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $87,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 29,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,051,843.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.77, for a total transaction of $333,850.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,916.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,218,138 over the last three months. 1.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 125.0% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 265 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.