We recently published an article titled Top 12 Stocks to Buy According to Citadel Investment Group. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) stands against the other stocks.
Citadel Investment Group was officially founded by Ken Griffin on November 1, 1990, with $4.2 million in assets under management. By the end of 2013, the fund had expanded to $16 billion, a remarkable growth driven by a combination of advanced computer algorithms, complex financial models, and a highly secretive approach in its initial years. Griffin was an early adopter of quantitative, technology-driven investment strategies, implementing sophisticated methods long before many firms had even integrated basic digital tools. His reliance on cutting-edge technology and data-driven decision-making positioned Citadel as a leader in the hedge fund industry, setting it apart from traditional investment firms. As of Q4 2024, it holds approximately $577.87 billion in 13F securities in its highly diversified portfolio.
Known more commonly as Ken Griffin, Kenneth Cordele Griffin was born in 1968. His interest in finance began early, and while still a student, he started investing from his Harvard dorm room. In 1986, he launched a small hedge fund that leveraged emerging quantitative analytics to guide investment decisions. A year after he earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Economics from Harvard College in 1989, Griffin founded Citadel, which has since become one of the world’s most successful alternative investment firms. In addition to leading Citadel, Griffin serves as the Founder and Non-Executive Chairman of Citadel Securities, a major global market maker.
Citadel was built on the principle that exceptional talent, combined with advanced quantitative analytics and powerful technology, could unlock significant opportunities in capital markets. The firm’s culture emphasizes continuous learning, innovation, and meritocracy, earning it a reputation as one of the best places to work on Wall Street. Today, Citadel manages over $60 billion in investment capital, consistently ranking among the most profitable hedge funds worldwide. Its success has benefited a range of institutional investors, including pension funds, university endowments, hospital systems, and foundations, contributing to impactful advancements in fields such as medical research and scientific discovery.
Citadel Investment Group employs a diverse range of investment strategies, with a strong focus on fixed income, macro, and quantitative trading. Its fixed income and macro strategy, one of the firm’s longest-running approaches, targets interest rate swaps, sovereign bonds, inflation, currencies, emerging markets, equities, commodities, and credit. By leveraging macro and relative value strategies, the firm integrates quantitative modeling, deep macroeconomic insights, and monetary policy expertise to identify opportunities. The research and trading teams work collaboratively, applying both qualitative and quantitative analysis to generate and refine investment ideas.
Additionally, Citadel’s Global Quantitative Strategies (GQS), established in 2012, has rapidly grown into a major force in the industry. Utilizing advanced statistical and quantitative modeling techniques, its agile teams of researchers, engineers, and traders develop and execute investment strategies with precision. Specialization, collaboration, and centralized operations drive efficiency, allowing the firm to run complex strategies at scale. By combining cutting-edge technology with deep expertise, Citadel continues to expand its capabilities and strengthen its competitive position in global markets.
Beyond finance, Griffin has made a profound impact through philanthropy, donating over $2 billion to education, healthcare, and social initiatives. His philanthropic efforts, now coordinated through Griffin Catalyst, have expanded educational access, strengthened medical and research institutions, and supported cultural organizations. His strategic insights also played a key role in the development of Operation Warp Speed, accelerating COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Whether in business or philanthropy, Griffin’s commitment to data-driven decision-making and transformative impact remains a defining characteristic of his career.
Our Methodology
The stocks discussed below were picked from Citadel Investment Group’s Q4 2024 13F filings. They are compiled in the ascending order of the hedge fund’s stake in them as of December 31, 2024. To assist readers with more context, we have included the hedge fund sentiment regarding each stock using data from 1,009 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A skilled surgeon surrounded by a team of medical professionals performing a Transcatheter Heart Valve Replacement.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q4: 67
Citadel Investment Group’s Equity Stake: $697.22 Million
Headquartered in Irvine, California, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) reported its financial results for Q4 and the full year ending December 31, 2024, highlighting strong performance across its product portfolio. The company achieved revenue of $1.39 billion, surpassing expectations by $30 million and reflecting a 9% year-over-year increase. Earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter stood at $0.59, compared to the projected $0.95. Additionally, the company maintained a solid gross profit margin of 79% and a strong liquidity position, holding $3 billion in cash and cash equivalents.
CEO Bernard Zovighian emphasized the company’s progress in advancing structural heart innovations, citing key growth drivers such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement, mitral and tricuspid therapies, and emerging opportunities in structural heart failure and aortic regurgitation. Following the earnings announcement, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)’s stock surged by 5.77% in after-hours trading, closing at $75. Analysts consider the stock undervalued, given its low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 10.22 and an exceptionally low price/earnings-to-growth ratio of 0.14, indicating strong investor confidence in future growth.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) reaffirmed its financial guidance for 2025, expecting Q1 sales between $1.35 billion and $1.43 billion, with adjusted EPS ranging from $0.58 to $0.64. For the full year, the company projects total revenue between $5.6 billion and $6.0 billion, representing an anticipated 8-10% growth. The company remains committed to global expansion and sustained investment in research and development, positioning itself for continued success in the structural heart market.
By the end of Q4 2024, Citadel Investment Group significantly expanded its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW), increasing its holdings to approximately 9.42 million shares—a sharp rise from approximately 2 million shares in Q3, representing a 373% surge. This boosted the fund’s total investment in the company to nearly $697.22 million, making it sixth in the list of the top stocks to buy according to Citadel Investment Group.
Wedgewood Partners stated the following regarding Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) was a contributor to quarterly performance but only slightly impacted annual portfolio performance. As we noted earlier this year, the Company’s flagship transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) franchise slowed as compared to the Company’s recent history. While the TAVR market is maturing, it is still far from saturated, as recent clinical trial results demonstrated. Many aortic stenosis patients prior to seeking TAVR treatment exhibit adverse symptoms, often prompting them to get the help of a doctor in the 7irst place. However, there is a large population afflicted with aortic stenosis that do not exhibit symptoms which is monitored rather than treated with TAVR. Edwards presented data from its EARLY TAVR trial that showed 45 percent of untreated asymptomatic aortic stenosis exhibited no symptoms, still ended up dying, suffered a stroke, or were hospitalized for cardiac events compared to only 26 percent that had been treated with TAVR. The standard of care for a disease such as cancer is immediate intervention rather than waiting for symptoms to worsen. The EARLY trial could help position aortic stenosis treatment on a similar clinical footing as cancer treatment. Although this is just one study, it adds to the substantial body of knowledge that Edwards has created through its R&D investments, emphasizing how important their treatments are for patients. Edwards is well positioned for double-digit earnings growth over the next several years as they expand its structural heart franchise into new populations and indications.”
Overall EW ranks 6th on our list of the top stocks to buy according to Citadel Investment Group. While we acknowledge the potential for EW as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than EW but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
