Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.60.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EW opened at $76.79 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.67. The firm has a market cap of $45.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. 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 has a 1-year low of $58.93 and a 1-year high of $95.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.78, for a total transaction of $796,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,150,791.86. This represents a 27.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 5,980 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $447,961.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,366,054.44. This represents a 9.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $4,709,454 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EW. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth $3,702,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,845,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 134,341 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,945,000 after acquiring an additional 23,409 shares during the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth about $4,499,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth about $1,120,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.