Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Given New $40.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

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 target price boosted by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price would indicate a potential downside of 2.18% from the company's previous close.

AORT has been the topic of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of Artivion in a research report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Artivion currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Artivion Trading Up 25.0%

Shares of NYSE:AORT traded up $8.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.89. 1,728,804 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 309,000. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 5.53 and a quick ratio of 3.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -97.36 and a beta of 1.64. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $30.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.00. Artivion has a 1 year low of $21.97 and a 1 year high of $40.96.

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 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 6.32%. The business had revenue of $112.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.96 million. Artivion's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Artivion will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Artivion

In related news, Director Anthony B. Semedo sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.47, for a total value of $74,022.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,189.73. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 178,510 shares in the company, valued at $5,176,790. This trade represents a 4.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,406 shares of company stock valued at $1,801,262 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Artivion

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artivion by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 165,482 shares of the company's stock worth $4,731,000 after acquiring an additional 33,220 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Artivion by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 20,519 shares of the company's stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Artivion by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,777 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,083,000 after buying an additional 4,749 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Artivion by 64.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 160,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,597,000 after buying an additional 62,893 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Artivion by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 36,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 11,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.37% of the company's stock.

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.