Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AORT. Citizens Jmp raised Artivion to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Artivion in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Artivion from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities increased their price target on Artivion from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Artivion from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Artivion Stock Performance

AORT opened at $40.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.36 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 5.53 and a quick ratio of 3.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.02. Artivion has a 1-year low of $21.97 and a 1-year high of $40.96.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.13. Artivion had a positive return on equity of 6.32% and a negative net margin of 4.43%. The firm had revenue of $112.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.96 million. The business’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Artivion will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Artivion news, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 9,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $287,854.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 187,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,430,482. This trade represents a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anthony B. Semedo sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.47, for a total value of $74,022.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,059 shares in the company, valued at $941,189.73. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 62,406 shares of company stock valued at $1,801,262. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AORT. Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Artivion by 107.6% in the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 1,022,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,140,000 after acquiring an additional 530,122 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Artivion in the first quarter worth about $7,650,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Artivion by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,041,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,791,000 after purchasing an additional 226,160 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Artivion in the fourth quarter worth about $5,573,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in Artivion in the fourth quarter worth about $4,771,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.37% of the company’s stock.

About Artivion

Artivion, Inc manufactures, processes, and distributes medical devices and implantable human tissues worldwide. The company provides BioGlue, a polymer consisting of bovine blood protein and an agent for cross-linking proteins for cardiac, vascular, neurologic, and pulmonary procedures; cardiac preservation services; PhotoFix, a bovine pericardial patch; and aortic arch stent grafts including E-vita Open Plus and E-vita Open Neo.