Nuveen LLC Takes $2.65 Million Position in Artivion, Inc. $AORT

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Artivion, Inc. by purchasing 107,926 shares valued at approximately $2,653,000, representing about 0.25% ownership as of their latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings in Artivion, with **86.37%** of the stock now owned by such entities.
• Artivion reported better-than-expected earnings, with an EPS of $0.24 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue growth of 15.3%.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 107,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,653,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.25% of Artivion at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Artivion by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 341,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,398,000 after purchasing an additional 74,589 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Artivion by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 376,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,243,000 after purchasing an additional 17,860 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Artivion by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Artivion during the 1st quarter valued at $3,261,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Artivion by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. 86.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AORT. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Artivion from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $38.80 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Artivion in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Artivion from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Artivion from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Artivion from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $40.63.

Artivion Price Performance

NYSE:AORT traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.87. 342,981 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 630,482. The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 4.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Artivion, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.97 and a 1 year high of $45.07. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.60 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.31.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $112.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.96 million. Artivion had a negative net margin of 4.43% and a positive return on equity of 5.70%. The company's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Artivion has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Artivion

In other news, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 18,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.02, for a total value of $801,164.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 64,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,826,084. This trade represents a 22.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James P. Mackin sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $529,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 852,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,089,776.56. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 115,990 shares of company stock worth $4,435,823. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Artivion Company Profile

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.