Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Cut to “Underperform” at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research cut shares of Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) from a peer perform rating to an underperform rating in a research report report published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $60.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on EW. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.48.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

EW stock opened at $69.77 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $72.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.45. The firm has a market cap of $41.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 3.46. Edwards Lifesciences has a 1 year low of $58.93 and a 1 year high of $96.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.67. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $68.76, for a total transaction of $34,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,594,475.64. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.57, for a total value of $327,850.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $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 33,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,195,180 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 138.7% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

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.