Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Upgraded to Buy at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $90.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $82.00.

EW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.40.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:EW opened at $73.91 on Monday. 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 has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.12. Edwards Lifesciences has a 12 month low of $58.93 and a 12 month high of $96.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.80.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Edwards Lifesciences’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total value of $347,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,262,521.36. The trade was a 9.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total value of $185,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,717,841.12. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,508,350. 1.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 138.7% in the 3rd 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. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.