Truist Financial Upgrades Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) to Buy

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) was upgraded by stock analysts at Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $113.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $95.00. Truist Financial‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.21% from the stock’s current price.

EW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.52.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

NYSE EW traded up $1.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $100.70. 9,035,104 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,520,439. Edwards Lifesciences has a 1-year low of $74.66 and a 1-year high of $104.17. The company has a market cap of $57.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 3.77 and a current ratio of 4.52.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 15.43%. Edwards Lifesciences’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences will post 3.00 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, SVP Andrew M. Dahl sold 544 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 14,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,353,880.08. This represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Daniel Lippis sold 619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.03, for a total value of $56,966.57. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 40,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,684,329.02. This trade represents 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,045 shares of company stock worth $451,596. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,318,092,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,274,082,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $605,397,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the second quarter worth about $516,552,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the second quarter worth about $389,089,000. Institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Edwards reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.80, above the $0.74 consensus, and revenue of $1.72 billion, ahead of estimates and up 11.2% year over year. Strong structural-heart sales helped lift results. Edwards Lifesciences third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $2.97–$3.05. TMTT sales grew 45.6% and TAVR sales increased 8.8%, reinforcing growth across its heart-valve and repair businesses. Q3 earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: PROGRESS Trial results found TAVR performed better than active surveillance for at-risk patients with moderate aortic stenosis, including fewer combined death or heart-failure outcomes and hospitalizations, plus improved quality-of-life measures. The findings may support earlier use of the procedure. PROGRESS Trial data
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets following the results: Barclays to $120, JPMorgan to $120, RBC to $115, and Leerink Partners to $112. Baird upgraded EW to outperform, while Truist moved to strong buy, signaling improved sentiment about the outlook. Analyst reaction and market coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Edwards’ CEO said more competition is coming in TAVR. Greater competitive pressure could weigh on market share or pricing, tempering the otherwise favorable growth and trial news. CEO comments on TAVR competition

About Edwards Lifesciences

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) is a medical technology company focused on therapies for structural heart disease and critical care. The company develops and manufactures products designed to treat conditions affecting the heart’s valves, including aortic, mitral and tricuspid valve disorders.

Its portfolio includes transcatheter aortic valve replacement systems, transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies, surgical heart valves and valve-repair technologies. Edwards also provides related delivery systems and other medical devices used by physicians in minimally invasive and open-heart procedures.

Founded in 1958 by Miles Lowell Edwards, the company is headquartered in Irvine, California, and serves healthcare providers and patients internationally.