Piper Sandler Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW)

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by equities researchers at Piper Sandler in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $115.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $101.00. Piper Sandler‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.85% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $101.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $116.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.88.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $101.91. 5,112,546 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,098,582. The company has a quick ratio of 3.77, a current ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $58.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.85. Edwards Lifesciences has a 1 year low of $74.66 and a 1 year high of $104.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $88.92 and its 200 day moving average is $85.78.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.06. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 15.43%. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. Edwards Lifesciences’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, SVP Andrew M. Dahl sold 544 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.06, for a total transaction of $49,536.64. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,868 shares in the company, valued at $1,353,880.08. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Daniel Lippis sold 619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total value of $53,017.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 40,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,912.10. The trade was a 1.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 5,045 shares of company stock worth $451,596 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Edwards Lifesciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cornerstone Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth about $9,240,000. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 49.9% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 745,667 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $64,366,000 after purchasing an additional 248,305 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 22.5% during the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 7,655 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 140.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 39,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 23,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Trust boosted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Trust now owns 7,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Edwards Lifesciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Edwards Lifesciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Edwards reported Q3 sales growth of 11.2% to $1.72 billion, with adjusted earnings and revenue beating estimates. TMTT sales rose 45.6% and TAVR sales grew 8.8%; the company raised its sales outlook and set adjusted full-year EPS guidance of $2.97–$3.05. Edwards Q3 earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: PROGRESS Trial results found TAVR outperformed active surveillance for at-risk patients with moderate aortic stenosis, including fewer combined death or heart-failure outcomes. The findings could support earlier use of the procedure and expand Edwards’ potential market. Trial data points to earlier TAVR use
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted price targets following the results: UBS raised its target to $118 and JPMorgan to $120, while Piper Sandler reaffirmed its buy-equivalent rating with a $115 target. The latest target increases and reaffirmations add to bullish sentiment. UBS reaffirms buy rating Piper Sandler keeps buy rating
• Negative Sentiment: Management has acknowledged that more competition is coming in TAVR, a potential pressure on market share and future growth, although the recent results and trial data provide positive offsets. CEO comments on TAVR competition

Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile

Edwards Lifesciences is a medical technology company focused on therapies for structural heart disease and critical care. Its products include transcatheter and surgical heart valves, as well as technologies used to monitor patients during intensive care and surgery.

The company traces its origins to 1958, when engineer Lowell Edwards and surgeon Albert Starr began developing an artificial heart valve. Their work led to the Starr-Edwards valve, introduced in 1960. Edwards Lifesciences is headquartered in Irvine, California, and serves clinicians and patients around the world.

Its structural heart portfolio includes transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) systems and therapies addressing mitral and tricuspid valve disease.