Vestal Point Capital LP Invests $18.15 Million in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 275,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,147,000. Edwards Lifesciences comprises about 1.4% of Vestal Point Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

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

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EW opened at $72.07 on Friday. 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 $42.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.32. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $58.93 and a 52 week high of $96.12.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total transaction of $347,550.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,521.36. This trade represents a 9.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.91, for a total value of $1,647,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 198,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,084,848.66. The trade was a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $2,657,000. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Daiwa America cut Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.