Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Trading Down 3.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)’s share price was down 3.7% during mid-day trading on Friday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $92.00 to $89.00. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. Edwards Lifesciences traded as low as $84.76 and last traded at $84.76. Approximately 842,369 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 3,789,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.01.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on EW. Bank of America upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jean-Luc M. Lemercier sold 14,400 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $1,329,408.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,049,739.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Michael A. Mussallem sold 29,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.67, for a total transaction of $2,543,764.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,801.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jean-Luc M. Lemercier sold 14,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $1,329,408.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,049,739.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 194,004 shares of company stock worth $17,166,254 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EW. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,611 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $700,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 106,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,361,000 after buying an additional 34,487 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 323,224 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,393,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 390,069 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,024,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542 shares during the period. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Down 1.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $52.02 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.76.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 23.56%. Equities analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.