Avanza Fonder AB Sells 2,740 Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Avanza Fonder AB decreased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 62,702 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,740 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $4,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on EW. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.08, for a total value of $112,620.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,514,879.68. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.40, for a total value of $198,918.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 50,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,897,554.40. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,448 shares of company stock valued at $3,768,465. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:EW opened at $75.75 on Wednesday. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1 year low of $58.93 and a 1 year high of $95.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $44.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.84.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 72.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Edwards Lifesciences 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.