Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Given New $80.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.79% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on EW. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.90.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

NYSE EW traded up $0.66 on Wednesday, hitting $72.21. 1,032,098 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,633,529. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Edwards Lifesciences has a 1-year low of $58.93 and a 1-year high of $96.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.67. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.57, for a total transaction of $327,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,077,593.52. This trade represents a 9.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.91, for a total transaction of $1,647,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 198,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,084,848.66. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,657,000 over the last 90 days. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the second quarter worth about $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 138.7% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

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.