Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Lowers Stock Holdings in AxoGen, Inc. $AXGN

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital cut its AxoGen stake by 63.5% in the first quarter, selling 450,474 shares and retaining 259,297 shares worth approximately $8.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.29% of AXGN.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: nine analysts rate AxoGen a Buy, one rates it Hold, and one rates it Sell. The stock has a consensus price target of $51, with several firms recently raising targets to $55.
• AxoGen reported quarterly EPS of $0.12, matching estimates, while revenue of $69.73 million exceeded the $67.10 million consensus. Despite strong liquidity and recent share-price gains, the company posted a negative net margin of 13.36%.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its stake in AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN - Free Report) by 63.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,297 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 450,474 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.49% of AxoGen worth $8,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AXGN. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in AxoGen by 183.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,931,158 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $20,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,968 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in AxoGen by 101.1% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,857,350 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $61,534,000 after acquiring an additional 933,778 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in AxoGen by 2,255.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 971,358 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $31,793,000 after acquiring an additional 930,126 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AxoGen during the 4th quarter worth $26,180,000. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AxoGen during the 4th quarter worth $25,665,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AXGN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AxoGen in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of AxoGen from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of AxoGen from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of AxoGen from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of AxoGen in a report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AxoGen has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AxoGen news, Director Kathy Johnson Weiler sold 16,344 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $720,606.96. Following the sale, the director owned 16,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,606.96. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Johnson sold 11,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total value of $478,023.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $478,023. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 29,041 shares of company stock worth $1,268,792 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.44% of the company's stock.

AxoGen Stock Performance

Shares of AXGN opened at $42.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 6.60, a quick ratio of 5.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -62.07 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.37. AxoGen, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.39 and a 12-month high of $46.95.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.12. The company had revenue of $69.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.10 million. AxoGen had a negative net margin of 13.36% and a negative return on equity of 8.90%. As a group, research analysts predict that AxoGen, Inc. will post -0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.