Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Artivion's target price has been raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $36.00 to $40.00, reflecting a potential upside of 0.06% from its current price.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.24, exceeding estimates and marking a 15.3% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Five analysts have given Artivion a buy rating, with a consensus price target of $37.00 according to MarketBeat data.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective would indicate a potential downside of 8.20% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on AORT. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Artivion in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Artivion in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.00.

Artivion Trading Up 1.4%

AORT traded up $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.57. 859,939 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 438,163. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.07. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -104.08 and a beta of 1.64. Artivion has a 1 year low of $21.97 and a 1 year high of $43.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 4.78.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.13. Artivion had a positive return on equity of 5.70% and a negative net margin of 4.43%. The business had revenue of $112.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.96 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Artivion will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Artivion

In other news, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.44, for a total transaction of $743,194.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 79,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,252,448. This represents a 24.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 9,926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,430,482. The trade was a 5.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,406 shares of company stock valued at $1,801,262. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artivion

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Artivion during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Artivion during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. James Investment Research Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Artivion during the 2nd quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in shares of Artivion during the 2nd quarter valued at about $244,000. 86.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.