Wall Street Zen Upgrades Artivion (NYSE:AORT) to Strong-Buy

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities upped their price target on Artivion from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Artivion from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Artivion in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Artivion from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on shares of Artivion from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Artivion has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.11.

Artivion Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AORT opened at $46.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.88, a current ratio of 3.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Artivion has a 52-week low of $21.97 and a 52-week high of $48.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of -194.29 and a beta of 1.60.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Artivion had a negative net margin of 2.16% and a positive return on equity of 5.98%. The company had revenue of $113.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.71 million. Artivion’s revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Artivion will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 47,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.04, for a total value of $2,133,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 44,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,015,675.12. The trade was a 51.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $461,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 169,169 shares in the company, valued at $7,812,224.42. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 234,511 shares of company stock worth $10,612,452. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artivion

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in shares of Artivion by 402.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Artivion during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Artivion by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Artivion in the 3rd quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Artivion during the 3rd quarter worth about $92,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.37% of the company’s stock.

Artivion Company Profile

Artivion, Inc (NYSE: AORT) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and markets implantable tissue products and surgical devices for cardiac and vascular surgery. The company’s portfolio includes biologic implants derived from human and animal tissue, such as allografts and xenografts, as well as synthetic scaffolds and surgical adhesives. These products are designed to repair, reinforce or replace damaged cardiovascular and thoracic tissues during procedures such as aortic repair, heart valve surgery and vascular reconstruction.

Originally founded in 1984 under the name CryoLife, the company rebranded as Artivion in early 2022 to reflect its broader mission in cardiovascular innovation.