William Blair Adjusts Earnings Forecast for Edwards Lifesciences in FY2024

Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) has received revised earnings estimates from investment analysts at William Blair. On December 5th, they announced a downward adjustment for the company’s expected earnings for the fiscal year 2024. Analyst M. Andrew now predicts that Edwards Lifesciences will earn $2.57 per share, a slight decline from the previous estimate of $2.58.

The consensus forecast among analysts for Edwards Lifesciences’ total earnings this year stands at $2.55 per share. In addition to the overall estimate, William Blair has also provided specific projections for upcoming quarters. They expect earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024 to be $0.54 per share, while they forecast $0.58 for the first quarter of 2025, $0.62 for the second quarter of 2025, and $0.60 for the third quarter of the same year. For the fiscal year 2025, they project earnings of $2.45 per share, and for fiscal year 2026, they foresee an increase to $2.72 per share.

Recent Earnings Performance

Edwards Lifesciences released its latest earnings results on October 24th, where it reported earnings of $0.67 per share for the quarter. This figure met the consensus expectations of analysts, who also had a forecast of $0.67. During this quarter, the company achieved a remarkable net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. However, the revenue amounted to $1.35 billion, which was below the anticipated $1.57 billion. This represents an 8.9% year-over-year increase from the previous year, during which the company reported earnings of $0.59 per share.

Analysts' Ratings on Edwards Lifesciences

Edwards Lifesciences has drawn attention from various analysts. Canaccord Genuity recently raised its target price from $63.00 to $68.00 while issuing a “hold” rating. The Goldman Sachs Group increased its price target from $81.00 to $90.00, giving the stock a “buy” rating. Conversely, Piper Sandler reduced its target price from $73.00 to $70.00, maintaining a “neutral” rating. Additionally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted its price target from $70.00 to $75.00 and designated the stock as a “hold.” On the other hand, Daiwa America downgraded its rating from “strong-buy” to “hold.” Currently, a total of seventeen equity research analysts rate the stock as a hold, while ten rate it as a buy. Based on data, the consensus rating for Edwards Lifesciences is “Hold,” with a target price of $78.35.

Current Stock Market Performance

The stock opened at $71.53 on a recent Friday. With a market capitalization of $42.19 billion, the stock has a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a PEG ratio of 4.17. Over the past weeks, the simple moving averages are 50 days at $68.65, and 200 days at $74.52. The company’s one-year stock performance shows a low of $58.93 and a high of $96.12. Financial ratios indicate a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.46, and a quick ratio of 2.89.

Insider Transactions

In recent developments, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the company on November 5th, fetching an average price of $65.91 per share, totaling $1,647,750. Following this transaction, he owns 198,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,084,848.66, indicating an 11.18% reduction in ownership. Another insider, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr., also sold 5,000 shares on November 13th, at an average price of $65.57, amounting to $327,850. After this sale, he holds 46,936 shares valued at around $3,077,593.52. They are part of a broader trend, as insiders have sold a total of 40,000 shares valued at $2,657,000 over the previous quarter. Currently, insiders hold approximately 1.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investor Activity

Edwards Lifesciences has seen active trading among institutional investors in recent months. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake by 2.3% during the third quarter, now holding 1,196,059 shares worth over $83 million after acquiring 27,193 additional shares. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corporation increased its holdings by 108.0%, owning 293,758 shares worth around $19 million after a purchase of 152,539 shares. Tidal Investments boosted its holdings by 0.7%, adding 275 shares during the same period. Several other investment firms, like Destination Wealth Management and Wilmington Savings Fund Society, also raised their positions. Currently, institutional investors own approximately 79.46% of Edwards Lifesciences' stock.

Company Overview

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation specializes in providing innovative products and technologies to tackle structural heart diseases as well as critical care monitoring needs globally, with significant operations in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The company offers a range of transcatheter heart valve replacement products, designed for minimally invasive aortic heart valve replacements under the Edwards SAPIEN family. They also provide transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement solutions addressing mitral and tricuspid valve issues under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband brands.

Edwards, Lifesciences, Earnings