Dark Forest Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 224.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,404 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,196 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.25.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 6,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total transaction of $428,459.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,106,859.33. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total value of $852,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,561 shares in the company, valued at $2,315,301.36. This trade represents a 26.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,853 shares of company stock valued at $5,163,062 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of EW stock opened at $75.15 on Friday. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $58.93 and a 52 week high of $95.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.02. 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 has a market capitalization of $44.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during 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 posted $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.