Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Artivion (NYSE:AORT) reached a new 52-week high of $33.39, closing at $32.71 with a trading volume of 76,095 shares.
• Analysts have mostly rated Artivion as a "buy" or "strong-buy," with a consensus rating pointing to an average target price of $32.40.
• The company reported earnings of $0.06 per share in its latest quarterly earnings, missing the expected $0.12, yet achieved revenue of $98.98 million, surpassing the estimated $94.81 million.

Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $33.39 and last traded at $32.71, with a volume of 76095 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AORT shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Artivion from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Artivion from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Artivion from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities increased their price target on Artivion from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.00.

Artivion Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 5.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.78 and a 200 day moving average of $28.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -97.36 and a beta of 1.64.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.13. Artivion had a positive return on equity of 6.32% and a negative net margin of 4.43%. The business had revenue of $112.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.96 million. Artivion's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 8,748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $253,692.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 178,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,176,790. This represents a 4.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $442,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 64,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,893,900. The trade was a 18.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,406 shares of company stock worth $1,801,262 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artivion

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AORT. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Artivion during the fourth quarter worth about $275,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artivion by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,623 shares of the company's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 1,925 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Artivion by 64.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 160,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,597,000 after purchasing an additional 62,893 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Artivion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Artivion by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 86.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.