Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Key Points

• Piper Sandler has raised the price target for Edwards Lifesciences from $83.00 to $90.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.89% from the current stock price.
• Other analysts, including Royal Bank of Canada and Argus, have also raised their price targets and ratings for the company, reflecting positive sentiment.
• Edwards Lifesciences reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.67, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.62, with revenue growth of 11.9% year-over-year.
• Insiders have been selling shares of Edwards Lifesciences, with notable sales occurring by CEO Bernard J. Zovighian and insider Larry L. Wood, reducing their ownership stakes in the company.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $83.00 to $90.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the medical research company's stock. Piper Sandler's target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.71% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on EW. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.00.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

EW stock traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.46. 6,024,531 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,575,252. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $76.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.55. Edwards Lifesciences has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $83.00. The company has a quick ratio of 3.66, a current ratio of 4.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 5,980 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was 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 owned 58,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,366,054.44. The trade was a 9.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owned 50,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,897,554.40. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,848 shares of company stock valued at $2,314,488 over the last quarter. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Edwards Lifesciences

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EW. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $216,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 3.5% during the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 453,606 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,477,000 after acquiring an additional 15,332 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 10.5% during the second quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 39,121 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,060,000 after acquiring an additional 3,732 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $203,000. Institutional investors own 79.46% of the company's stock.

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.