XTX Topco Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation by 32.2%, purchasing 6,722 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 27,622 shares valued at approximately $2 million.
• Other hedge funds have also been increasing their stakes in Edwards Lifesciences, with Jennison Associates LLC boosting its position by 34.3% during the same period.
• Analysts have varied ratings on the stock, with one analyst upgrading to a strong-buy rating and an average target price of $85.71, indicating a positive outlook for the company.

XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 32.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,622 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 6,722 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $2,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 116.1% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 402 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 102.5% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 405 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of EW stock traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $79.30. 3,152,852 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,898,219. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $76.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.80. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $46.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.08. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has a twelve month low of $59.41 and a twelve month high of $83.00.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. Edwards Lifesciences's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was 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 directly owned 41,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,057,691.20. This trade represents a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.08, for a total value of $112,620.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 33,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,514,879.68. This represents a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,962 shares of company stock valued at $2,641,387. 1.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on EW. Dbs Bank raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.71.

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.