Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Sets New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Edwards Lifesciences achieved a new 52-week high share price of $81.66 following a stronger than expected earnings report, closing at $80.69.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.67, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.62, with quarterly revenue reaching $1.53 billion.
• Equity analysts have raised their price targets for the stock, with Deutsche Bank increasing theirs from $85.00 to $94.00 and a majority of analysts giving it a "hold" rating.
• Insider trading revealed that VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,500 shares at an average price of $75.08, indicating a decrease in their ownership stake.

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $81.66 and last traded at $80.69, with a volume of 42793 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.80.

The medical research company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.05. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 16.62% and a net margin of 75.48%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. Edwards Lifesciences's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.08, for a total value of $112,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 33,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,514,879.68. This represents a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Larry L. Wood sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.23, for a total transaction of $673,308.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 206,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,565,087. This trade represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,848 shares of company stock valued at $2,314,488 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EW. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the second quarter valued at about $1,336,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 26.2% in the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,990 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC lifted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.2% in the second quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 5,097 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Fulcrum Capital LLC lifted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.8% in the second quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 131,109 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,254,000 after purchasing an additional 4,842 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the second quarter valued at about $153,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.66, a current ratio of 4.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $46.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $76.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.52.

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.

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