Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) Given New $75.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Daiwa America cut shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of 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 report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.71.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

EW stock opened at $75.83 on Wednesday. Edwards Lifesciences has a one year low of $58.93 and a one year high of $96.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. On average, analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total transaction of $185,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,717,841.12. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,532,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,080,845,000 after purchasing an additional 14,610,123 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth about $610,895,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $555,939,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,132,036 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,117,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,537,494 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 475.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,243,976 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $314,182,000 after acquiring an additional 3,506,886 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.