AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded AxoGen from a "hold" to a "strong sell," even as the street consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $41.63 (nine Buys vs. two Sells).
• AxoGen's latest quarter showed a revenue beat ($61.46M vs. $57.85M est.) but an EPS miss ($0.07 vs. $0.11 est.), and the company still posts a negative net margin (-6.97%) and negative ROE (-13.44%) with analysts forecasting -0.24 EPS for the year.
• An insider sale (Erick Wayne Devinney sold 5,221 shares) coincides with heavy institutional ownership—about 80.29% held by hedge funds and other institutions, with several large managers increasing stakes.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on AXGN. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on shares of AxoGen from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of AxoGen from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $45.00 price target on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.63.

AxoGen Trading Up 6.6%

AXGN stock opened at $41.99 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -123.50 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 5.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.21. AxoGen has a 52 week low of $9.22 and a 52 week high of $45.83.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.04). AxoGen had a negative return on equity of 13.44% and a negative net margin of 6.97%.The firm had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.85 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that AxoGen will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AxoGen news, insider Erick Wayne Devinney sold 5,221 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $171,457.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 262,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,629,728.04. This represents a 1.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AxoGen

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Light Asset Management LLC boosted its position in AxoGen by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 5,805,730 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $103,574,000 after buying an additional 1,276,487 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AxoGen by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,869,955 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $93,934,000 after buying an additional 190,557 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in AxoGen by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,586,870 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $84,668,000 after buying an additional 157,029 shares during the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC boosted its position in AxoGen by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 1,958,406 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $34,938,000 after buying an additional 332,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in AxoGen by 183.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,931,158 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $20,953,000 after buying an additional 1,250,968 shares during the last quarter. 80.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AxoGen Company Profile

AxoGen, Inc is a Florida-based medical technology company that develops and commercializes surgical solutions for peripheral nerve damage. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Alachua, Florida, the company focuses on restoring nerve function and improving patient outcomes through innovative biologic and engineered products. AxoGen's offerings address a range of traumatic and iatrogenic injuries, offering alternatives to traditional nerve autografts.

The company's core product portfolio includes the Avance® Nerve Graft, a decellularized human nerve allograft designed to bridge nerve gaps without the need for a secondary harvest site, and the Axoguard® Nerve Connector and Protector devices, which facilitate nerve coaptation and protect repaired sites from surrounding scar tissue.

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