Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Short Interest Up 81.8% in September

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) was the target of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,380,000 shares, an increase of 81.8% from the August 31st total of 6,260,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 6,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock traded up $0.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.58. 5,167,078 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,490,077. The stock has a market cap of $40.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.02. Edwards Lifesciences has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $96.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 2.87.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 24.55% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.77, for a total value of $333,850.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,133,916.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $87,437.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 29,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,051,843.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.77, for a total transaction of $333,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,133,916.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,218,138 in the last ninety days. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EW. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the first quarter valued at $28,000. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the second quarter valued at $39,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $103.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.82.

Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile

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.