Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Raised to Strong-Buy at Daiwa America

Key Points

• Edwards Lifesciences has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating by Daiwa America, indicating increased analyst confidence in the company's stock.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Edwards Lifesciences, with Deutsche Bank increasing its target from $85.00 to $94.00 and Piper Sandler raising it from $83.00 to $90.00.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings report showed a better-than-expected performance with $1.53 billion in revenue, beating analyst estimates and marking an 11.9% increase from the previous year.

Daiwa America upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on EW. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.71.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of EW stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $79.30. 3,152,852 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,898,219. The business's fifty day moving average is $76.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.45 and a quick ratio of 3.66. Edwards Lifesciences has a 12-month low of $59.41 and a 12-month high of $83.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.08.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.05. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.96% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.40, for a total value of $837,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 41,098 shares in the company, valued at $3,057,691.20. The trade was a 21.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.40, for a total value of $198,918.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 50,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,897,554.40. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,962 shares of company stock worth $2,641,387 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Edwards Lifesciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1.2% in the first quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 11,092 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.8% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,136 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 9.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,698 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 30,195 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,170,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% 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.