Soros Fund Management LLC Sells 50,000 Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Soros Fund Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 250,000 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 50,000 shares during the quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC's holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $18,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EW. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth about $610,895,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $555,939,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,132,036 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,117,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,537,494 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 475.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,243,976 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $314,182,000 after purchasing an additional 3,506,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at $213,844,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of EW stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.57. 3,286,833 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,018,710. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $95.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company's 50-day moving average price is $71.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.31.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 72.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EW. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research cut Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.81, for a total transaction of $663,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,295,450.86. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.48, for a total value of $27,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,569,414.24. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,853 shares of company stock worth $5,163,062 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company's stock.

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.