Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Given New $95.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus raised the price target for Edwards Lifesciences from $90.00 to $95.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.41%.
• The stock's recent trading saw an increase of 5.0%, closing at $79.56, with a market cap of $46.67 billion.
• Edwards Lifesciences reported a net margin of 75.48% and earnings per share of $0.67, exceeding analysts' estimates.
• Insider trading activity included Larry L. Wood selling nearly 9,000 shares, resulting in a 4.15% decrease in his position.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $90.00 to $95.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical research company's stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE EW traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $78.46. 6,024,531 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,575,252. Edwards Lifesciences has a 52-week low of $59.41 and a 52-week high of $83.00. The firm has a market cap of $46.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.55. 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 (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.05. The business 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 5,980 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $447,961.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 58,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,366,054.44. This represents a 9.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.40, for a total transaction of $198,918.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 50,356 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,848 shares of company stock valued at $2,314,488. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. 79.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.