Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Artivion's stock reached a new 52-week high of $43.50 during mid-day trading, closing at $43.05 with a volume of over 1.6 million shares traded.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings for Artivion, with an average target price of $40.00 and a consensus rating of "Buy," indicating positive expectations for the company.
• Artivion reported a quarterly EPS of $0.24, exceeding expectations and marking a 15.3% year-over-year revenue growth to $112.97 million.

Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $43.50 and last traded at $43.05, with a volume of 1637802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AORT shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Artivion from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Artivion from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of Artivion in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Artivion from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Artivion in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $39.80.

Artivion Stock Down 0.1%

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $31.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.29. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -104.26 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 4.78 and a quick ratio of 3.48.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $112.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.96 million. Artivion had a negative net margin of 4.43% and a positive return on equity of 5.70%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Artivion

In other news, Director Anthony B. Semedo sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.47, for a total transaction of $74,022.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,189.73. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 8,748 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $253,692.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 178,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,176,790. The trade was a 4.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,406 shares of company stock valued at $1,801,262 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artivion

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Next Century Growth Investors LLC grew its position in shares of Artivion by 107.6% during the 1st quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 1,022,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,140,000 after acquiring an additional 530,122 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Artivion during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,650,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Artivion by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,041,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,791,000 after acquiring an additional 226,160 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Artivion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,573,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Artivion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,771,000. 86.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.