Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Hits New 12-Month High on Earnings Beat

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $81.66 and last traded at $80.69, with a volume of 42793 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.80.

The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.96% and a return on equity of 15.25%. Edwards Lifesciences’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, insider Larry L. Wood sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.23, for a total transaction of $673,308.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 206,900 shares in the company, valued at $15,565,087. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.40, for a total transaction of $198,918.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 50,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,897,554.40. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,848 shares of company stock worth $2,314,488 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 30,195 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,038,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 15,506 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 77,016 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,582,000 after buying an additional 9,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advanced Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $328,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 5.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $46.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 3.66 and a current ratio of 4.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $76.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.56.

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.