Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,310,000 shares, an increase of 54.9% from the December 15th total of 7,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,077,593.52. This trade represents a 9.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,594,475.64. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,180 in the last three months. 1.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter worth $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE EW traded down $0.09 on Friday, reaching $69.77. The company had a trading volume of 5,031,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,230,130. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $71.99 and its 200 day moving average is $71.60. Edwards Lifesciences has a 52-week low of $58.93 and a 52-week high of $96.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.11.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.35 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa America cut 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 target price 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. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.48.

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.

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