One Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) insider upped their stake by 2.5% in the previous year

Insiders were net buyers of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation's (NYSE:EW ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders bought more stock than they sold.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Edwards Lifesciences

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Edwards Lifesciences

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Director Nicholas Valeriani for US$168k worth of shares, at about US$112 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$96.13). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Nicholas Valeriani.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insiders at Edwards Lifesciences Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Edwards Lifesciences. In total, insider Catherine Szyman sold US$52k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Does Edwards Lifesciences Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Edwards Lifesciences insiders own 0.8% of the company, worth about US$503m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Edwards Lifesciences Insiders?

An insider sold Edwards Lifesciences shares recently, but they didn't buy any. But we take heart from prior transactions. On top of that, insiders own a significant portion of the company. So the recent selling doesn't worry us. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that Edwards Lifesciences has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.