Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Wolfe Research

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wolfe Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.95.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock opened at $75.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Edwards Lifesciences has a fifty-two week low of $58.93 and a fifty-two week high of $96.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.36.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 70.82%. Analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total value of $852,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,301.36. The trade was a 26.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at $1,717,841.12. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,750 shares of company stock worth $1,564,255. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Edwards Lifesciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.