Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $70.46, but opened at $74.20. Edwards Lifesciences shares last traded at $75.28, with a volume of 2,789,972 shares.

The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 72.93%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on EW. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $73.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.25.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total transaction of $645,620.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,189,770.56. This represents a 16.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $852,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,315,301.36. This represents a 26.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,853 shares of company stock valued at $5,163,062 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EW. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter worth about $3,173,000. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 1,660.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 72,277 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,770,000 after buying an additional 68,172 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 147.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 5,420 shares during the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 7,012 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 39,532 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.02. The stock has a market cap of $44.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15.

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.