Insider Selling: Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) VP Sells 9,500 Shares of Stock

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total transaction of $645,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,189,770.56. This trade represents a 16.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Edwards Lifesciences stock opened at $67.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $71.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.89. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $96.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.93% and a return on equity of 19.40%. Equities analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on EW shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.95.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versor Investments LP lifted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 102.5% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,455 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,069,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $481,000. Future Fund LLC raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 37.8% during the third quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 15,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 4,363 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 25.8% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,878 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,581,000 after purchasing an additional 144,857 shares during the period. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.