Next Century Growth Investors LLC Purchases 530,122 Shares of Artivion, Inc. $AORT

Key Points

• Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its stake in Artivion, Inc. by 107.6%, holding 1,022,775 shares now valued at approximately $25.14 million.
• Artivion has received a consensus rating of Buy from analysts, with an average price target of $40.63, reflecting positive growth outlook.
• Despite its recent performance, Artivion stock is currently down 0.6%, trading at around $43.75, with a market capitalization of $2.06 billion.

Next Century Growth Investors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Free Report) by 107.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,022,775 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 530,122 shares during the quarter. Artivion accounts for about 2.2% of Next Century Growth Investors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned approximately 2.40% of Artivion worth $25,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artivion in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Artivion by 109.3% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Artivion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Artivion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $275,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Artivion during the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Artivion from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Artivion from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Artivion in a report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Artivion from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Artivion from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.63.

Insider Activity

In other Artivion news, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 26,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.44, for a total transaction of $743,194.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 79,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,448. This represents a 24.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 23,356 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.01, for a total transaction of $1,004,541.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 172,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,403,268.29. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,990 shares of company stock worth $4,435,823 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Artivion Stock Performance

AORT stock traded up $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $43.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 110,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,360. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.40. Artivion, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.97 and a 1 year high of $45.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -104.86 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 4.78, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $112.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.96 million. Artivion had a negative net margin of 4.43% and a positive return on equity of 5.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Artivion has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts predict that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.