Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Price Target Raised to $85.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $83.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential downside of 2.11% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on EW. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.20.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

EW traded down $1.18 on Friday, reaching $86.83. 2,525,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,812,634. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.76. Edwards Lifesciences has a fifty-two week low of $60.57 and a fifty-two week high of $96.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 2.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.27 billion, a PE ratio of 37.71, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 1.05.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 23.56% and a net margin of 23.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.29, for a total transaction of $567,993.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,506,925.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 1,715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.98, for a total transaction of $156,030.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,566,038.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.29, for a total value of $567,993.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,506,925.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 194,004 shares of company stock worth $17,166,254 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC raised its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 247.0% in the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.