Short Interest in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Decreases By 28.7%

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,490,000 shares, a drop of 28.7% from the February 13th total of 11,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EW shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.95.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

NYSE EW traded up $1.38 on Monday, reaching $70.67. The stock had a trading volume of 5,653,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,563,261. The stock has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. Edwards Lifesciences has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $96.12. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 3.46.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.93% and a return on equity of 19.40%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.76, for a total value of $34,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,594,475.64. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 6,500 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total transaction of $492,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,555,402. This trade represents a 12.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,303 shares of company stock valued at $3,715,776. 1.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Edwards Lifesciences

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EW. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.