Vestal Point Capital LP Takes Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 275,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,147,000. Edwards Lifesciences makes up 1.4% of Vestal Point Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EW. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 138.7% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth $40,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of EW opened at $72.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 3.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.32. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1 year low of $58.93 and a 1 year high of $96.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.67. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.91, for a total transaction of $1,647,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 198,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,084,848.66. The trade was a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total value of $347,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,262,521.36. This represents a 9.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,657,000 in the last three months. 1.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EW shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Daiwa America cut Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $83.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.85.

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.