Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Artivion, Inc. shares opened at $38.49, significantly up from a previous close of $32.70, following a better-than-expected earnings report.
• The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.11, along with a 15.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $112.97 million.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Artivion, with several giving it a "buy" rating, leading to an average target price of $37.00 and one reaching as high as $45.00.

Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $32.70, but opened at $38.49. Artivion shares last traded at $40.15, with a volume of 227,549 shares changing hands.

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 negative net margin of 4.43% and a positive return on equity of 5.70%. The business had revenue of $112.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.96 million. Artivion's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AORT shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Artivion from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Artivion in a report on Friday. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Artivion from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Artivion from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 9,926 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 187,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,430,482. The trade was a 5.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 26,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.44, for a total transaction of $743,194.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 79,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,252,448. This represents a 24.81% 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 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AORT. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Artivion in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Artivion by 109.3% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Artivion during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. James Investment Research Inc. purchased a new stake in Artivion during the 2nd quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in Artivion during the 2nd quarter valued at about $244,000. 86.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Artivion Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a current ratio of 4.78, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -104.08 and a beta of 1.64. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $31.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.07.

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.