Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,930,000 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the March 31st total of 9,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company's shares are short sold.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

NYSE:EW traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.18. The stock had a trading volume of 861,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,002,742. The stock has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Edwards Lifesciences has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $95.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.41.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 72.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 6,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total transaction of $428,459.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,106,859.33. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.81, for a total transaction of $663,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,295,450.86. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,833 shares of company stock valued at $5,611,023 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Edwards Lifesciences

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 116.1% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 402 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 102.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 405 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.45.

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.