Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 126,932 Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has significantly reduced its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation by 58.6%, selling 126,932 shares and leaving it with 89,672 shares worth approximately $6.5 million.
• During the fourth quarter, various hedge funds adjusted their positions in Edwards Lifesciences, with notable acquisitions including a new stake valued at $2.25 million by ExodusPoint Capital Management LP.
• Analysts have recently increased their target prices for Edwards Lifesciences, with Piper Sandler raising its target from $83 to $90, indicating a positive outlook for the company's stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 58.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 89,672 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 126,932 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $6,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EW. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $266,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 10,231 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,139 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,253,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 844,023 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $62,483,000 after purchasing an additional 81,144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.40, for a total transaction of $837,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 41,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,057,691.20. The trade was a 21.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.40, for a total transaction of $198,918.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 50,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,897,554.40. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,982 shares of company stock worth $2,193,425. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on EW shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Daiwa America upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Mizuho increased their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.71.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:EW opened at $80.08 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $77.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.92. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has a 52-week low of $59.41 and a 52-week high of $83.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 3.66 and a current ratio of 4.45. The company has a market cap of $46.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.08.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.96% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

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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