Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 30,874 Shares of Artivion, Inc. $AORT

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Artivion, Inc. by 14.3%, now holding 184,429 shares valued at approximately $4.53 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions, with Wellington Management raising theirs by 4.1% and Next Century Growth Investors lifting theirs by an impressive 107.6% in the first quarter.
• Artivion reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.24, surpassing analysts' consensus estimates, and achieved a revenue of $112.97 million for the quarter, representing a 15.3% increase from the previous year.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Free Report) by 14.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 184,429 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,874 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.43% of Artivion worth $4,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised 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 purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Artivion by 109.3% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Artivion by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Artivion during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Artivion by 16.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 86.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artivion Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of AORT traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.59. 1,311,858 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,870. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $38.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.68. Artivion, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.97 and a twelve month high of $45.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.64 and a beta of 1.70. 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 (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.13. The business 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%. Artivion's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Artivion has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Artivion news, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.37, for a total value of $443,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 172,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,637,363.73. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John E. Davis sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $471,723.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 208,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,117,335.26. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,858 shares of company stock valued at $3,250,129 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on AORT shares. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Artivion from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Artivion from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research 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 company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Artivion in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Artivion from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $38.80 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.63.

Artivion 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.