Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $70.91, but opened at $74.00. Edwards Lifesciences shares last traded at $75.52, with a volume of 1,541,690 shares trading hands.

The medical research company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.76, for a total transaction of $34,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,594,475.64. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Edwards Lifesciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $72.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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.