Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Lowered to Underperform Rating by Wolfe Research

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wolfe Research from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $60.00 target price on the medical research company's stock. Wolfe Research's price target would indicate a potential downside of 14.13% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on EW. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.48.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EW traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $69.87. 5,713,651 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,145,576. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.61. Edwards Lifesciences has a 1-year low of $58.93 and a 1-year high of $96.12. The firm has a market cap of $41.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.67. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 70.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 2,500 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total value of $185,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,717,841.12. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 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 $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,160,800. Insiders own 1.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EW. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,484 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 17,825 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 21,076 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Purus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is currently 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.