Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Edwards Lifesciences hit a new 52-week high of $105.63 after TD Cowen raised its price target from $117 to $121 and maintained a Buy rating.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 23 analysts rate the stock Buy and three rate it Hold, with a consensus target price of $109.56.
• The company beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.80 versus $0.74 expected and revenue of $1.72 billion, up 10.5% year over year.

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $117.00 to $121.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Edwards Lifesciences traded as high as $105.63 and last traded at $105.6550, with a volume of 1,795,644 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.01.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on EW. UBS Group raised their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $110.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $110.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.56.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 48,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.05, for a total transaction of $5,039,145.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,798 shares in the company, valued at $2,349,333.90. The trade was a 68.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Andrew M. Dahl sold 544 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.06, for a total transaction of $49,536.64. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,353,880.08. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,945 shares of company stock valued at $5,498,306. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the second quarter worth about $5,318,092,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the second quarter valued at $1,274,082,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the second quarter worth approximately $605,397,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the second quarter worth about $516,552,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 0.6% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,488,643 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $496,503,000 after buying an additional 30,495 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.60, a quick ratio of 3.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.98. The stock has a market cap of $60.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.81, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.85.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile

Edwards Lifesciences is a medical technology company focused on therapies for structural heart disease and critical care. Its products include transcatheter and surgical heart valves, as well as technologies used to monitor patients during intensive care and surgery. The company traces its origins to 1958, when engineer Lowell Edwards and surgeon Albert Starr began developing an artificial heart valve. Their work led to the Starr-Edwards valve, introduced in 1960. Edwards Lifesciences is headquartered in Irvine, California, and serves clinicians and patients around the world.

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