Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Receives $79.40 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.40.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Edwards Lifesciences from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of EW stock traded up $0.52 on Thursday, hitting $74.16. 3,446,932 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,037,682. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.52 and a 200 day moving average of $72.31. The stock has a market cap of $43.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.89. Edwards Lifesciences has a 12 month low of $58.93 and a 12 month high of $96.12.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $13,084,848.66. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.57, for a total transaction of $327,850.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,077,593.52. This represents a 9.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,508,350 over the last ninety days. 1.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,057,013 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $301,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,484 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 9.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 478,418 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,571,000 after purchasing an additional 40,348 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 91.7% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 749,524 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $49,461,000 after purchasing an additional 358,556 shares during the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 58.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 81,111 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,353,000 after buying an additional 25,886 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.