Wasatch Advisors LP Buys 226,160 Shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT)

Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Free Report) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,041,992 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 226,160 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 2.49% of Artivion worth $29,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AORT. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Artivion by 69.1% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 61,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 24,945 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Artivion by 346.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,877 shares of the company's stock worth $1,888,000 after buying an additional 54,996 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Artivion by 602.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 157,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,179,000 after buying an additional 134,642 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Artivion by 14.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,107 shares of the company's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 2,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Artivion in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,798,000. 86.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artivion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AORT traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $23.02. 36,616 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 294,683. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $24.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.35. The company has a market capitalization of $982.70 million, a P/E ratio of -1,150.10 and a beta of 1.65. Artivion, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.36 and a 52-week high of $32.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.51). Artivion had a positive return on equity of 5.15% and a negative net margin of 0.22%. The business had revenue of $97.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.82 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Lance A. Berry sold 3,259 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $89,003.29. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,070,234.55. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James P. Mackin sold 42,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total transaction of $1,151,280.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 663,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,130,617.42. The trade was a 5.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 90,799 shares of company stock valued at $2,356,223. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AORT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Artivion from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Artivion from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Artivion presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.40.

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.