Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus to "Buy" Rating

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $90.00 price target on the medical research company's stock, up from their previous price target of $75.00.

EW has been the topic of several other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $82.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Daiwa America downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.19.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

NYSE EW traded up $2.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $73.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,170,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,656,496. Edwards Lifesciences has a 1 year low of $58.93 and a 1 year high of $96.12. 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 has a market capitalization of $43.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $72.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.91, for a total transaction of $1,647,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 198,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,084,848.66. This represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the business'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 transaction of $34,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at $1,594,475.64. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,180 over the last three months. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EW. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter worth $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 138.7% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter valued at $40,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.