Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 48,084 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $3,173,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 478,418 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,571,000 after buying an additional 40,348 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,825,230 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $168,597,000 after acquiring an additional 50,124 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 91.7% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 749,524 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $49,461,000 after acquiring an additional 358,556 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 58.1% in the third quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 20,639 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 7,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 40.0% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 36,745 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 10,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

EW traded down $0.06 on Thursday, reaching $73.75. The stock had a trading volume of 2,141,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,641,937. The business's 50-day moving average price is $69.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.19. The company has a market cap of $43.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.12. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $96.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.67. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 70.82%. Edwards Lifesciences's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.57, for a total value of $327,850.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,077,593.52. The trade was a 9.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.91, for a total value of $1,647,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 198,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,084,848.66. The trade was a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $2,323,150 over the last three months. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EW. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Edwards Lifesciences from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.65.

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.