Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $70.91, but opened at $74.00. Edwards Lifesciences shares last traded at $75.52, with a volume of 1,541,690 shares traded.

The medical research company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 70.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $78.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Edwards Lifesciences from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.76, for a total value of $34,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,594,475.64. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EW. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 40,207 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,977,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Bowman & Co S.C. increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 12,487 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 54,589 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,156,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,563 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. 79.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $44.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.47 and a 200-day moving average of $69.32.

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.