AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded AxoGen from “strong buy” to “buy,” though analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: MarketBeat’s consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with a $57.92 average price target.
• AxoGen beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.21 in EPS versus $0.13 expected and revenue of $75.83 million versus $73.45 million forecast.
• Company insiders sold 84,353 shares worth about $4.02 million over the past 90 days; insiders retain 2.44% ownership.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

AXGN has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of AxoGen from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of AxoGen in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of AxoGen in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their target price on shares of AxoGen from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AxoGen has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.92.

AxoGen Trading Up 2.6%

AXGN opened at $50.02 on Friday. AxoGen has a twelve month low of $23.00 and a twelve month high of $52.91. The company has a quick ratio of 10.67, a current ratio of 12.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.95 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.92.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $75.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.45 million. AxoGen had a negative return on equity of 5.35% and a negative net margin of 11.96%. Analysts predict that AxoGen will post -0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AxoGen news, EVP Marc Began sold 67,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $3,195,450.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 50,135 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,390.90. This represents a 57.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph Tyndall sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $173,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $529,305. The trade was a 24.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 84,353 shares of company stock worth $4,015,952 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in AxoGen during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of AxoGen during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AxoGen by 858.9% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of AxoGen by 16.9% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,833 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of AxoGen in the second quarter worth about $203,000. Institutional investors own 80.29% of the company's stock.

About AxoGen

AxoGen, Inc NASDAQ: AXGN is a medical technology company focused on developing and commercializing products for the repair and regeneration of peripheral nerves. Its technologies are designed to help restore sensory and motor function following traumatic injuries, surgical procedures, and other conditions affecting peripheral nerves.

The company's product portfolio includes Avance Nerve Graft, a processed human nerve allograft used to bridge gaps in damaged nerves without requiring tissue to be taken from another part of the patient's body.

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