Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Downgraded to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

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

Artivion Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:AORT opened at $43.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.83. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of -179.40 and a beta of 1.59. Artivion has a 52 week low of $21.97 and a 52 week high of $48.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 2.88 and a current ratio of 3.93.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $113.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.71 million. Artivion’s revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Artivion will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 47,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.04, for a total value of $2,133,815.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 44,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,015,675.12. This trade represents a 51.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John E. Davis sold 6,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.86, for a total value of $300,979.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 198,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,118,894.12. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 234,511 shares of company stock worth $10,612,452. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Artivion

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in Artivion by 402.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 648 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Artivion during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. USA Financial Formulas increased its holdings in Artivion by 163.5% in the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Artivion by 47.7% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Artivion in the third quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Institutional investors own 86.37% of the company’s stock.

About Artivion

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.