Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Downgraded by Wolfe Research to “Underperform”

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $60.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 14.64% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa America cut Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.48.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of EW opened at $70.29 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.62. The firm has a market cap of $41.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Edwards Lifesciences has a 1-year low of $58.93 and a 1-year high of $96.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.67. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 70.82%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total transaction of $185,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,717,841.12. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.57, for a total value of $327,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,077,593.52. The trade was a 9.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,500 shares of company stock worth $2,160,800. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,532,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,080,845,000 after purchasing an additional 14,610,123 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,265,633 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,733,270,000 after purchasing an additional 256,538 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,521,147 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $889,050,000 after purchasing an additional 284,918 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,078,311 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $599,078,000 after buying an additional 806,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,005,789 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,322,000 after buying an additional 61,275 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by 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.