Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

by · The Cerbat Gem

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,220,000 shares, a decline of 14.5% from the September 30th total of 9,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Down 1.9 %

EW traded down $1.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $67.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,005,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,637,612. Edwards Lifesciences has a twelve month low of $58.93 and a twelve month high of $96.12. The stock has a market cap of $40.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 2.87.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.67. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 22.35% and a net margin of 24.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EW. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.67.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Edwards Lifesciences

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,262,521.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $87,437.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 29,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,051,843.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,521.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,250 shares of company stock worth $1,099,238 over the last 90 days. 1.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EW. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,878 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 33.4% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 703 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 330,711 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,603,000 after buying an additional 14,087 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 13,911 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plimoth Trust Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 3,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

About Edwards Lifesciences

(Get Free Report)

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.

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