Short Interest in Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) Decreases By 63.6%

Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,580,000 shares, a decline of 63.6% from the May 15th total of 4,340,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 462,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 10,548 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.13, for a total value of $307,263.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 105,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,068,321.16. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 9,926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $287,854.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,430,482. This represents a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,822 shares of company stock valued at $922,831 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Artivion

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AORT. Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Artivion in the first quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Artivion by 109.3% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artivion by 236.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in shares of Artivion during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Artivion in the 4th quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors own 86.37% of the company's stock.

Artivion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AORT traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $28.68. 219,399 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 443,432. Artivion has a twelve month low of $21.97 and a twelve month high of $32.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,433.95 and a beta of 1.62. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $26.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.45.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.06). Artivion had a negative net margin of 0.22% and a positive return on equity of 5.15%. The business had revenue of $98.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.81 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Artivion will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AORT shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Artivion from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $31.40.

Artivion Company Profile

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.