BlackRock Inc. Invests $204.12 Million in AxoGen, Inc. $AXGN

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 4.42 million AxoGen shares worth approximately $204.1 million, giving it an 8.22% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 80.29% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $51.56 target price; recent targets range from $55 to $60, although one firm maintains a sell rating.
• AxoGen reported quarterly revenue of $69.73 million and adjusted earnings of $0.12 per share, matching EPS expectations while exceeding revenue estimates. Shares opened at $51.73, near their 12-month high of $52.91.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,419,208 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $204,123,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 8.22% of AxoGen at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in AxoGen by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,473 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AxoGen by 6.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,943 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners raised its position in shares of AxoGen by 362.4% during the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 1,045 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of AxoGen by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 20,568 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AxoGen during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kathy Johnson Weiler sold 14,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.30, for a total transaction of $640,995.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marc A. Began sold 67,500 shares of AxoGen stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $3,195,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 50,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,390.90. This represents a 57.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 95,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,482,997 in the last three months. 2.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXGN. Zacks Research raised AxoGen from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of AxoGen in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on shares of AxoGen from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AxoGen in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.56.

AxoGen Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:AXGN opened at $51.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.07 and a beta of 1.11. AxoGen, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.24 and a twelve month high of $52.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $44.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.44. The company has a quick ratio of 5.04, a current ratio of 6.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12. AxoGen had a negative net margin of 13.36% and a negative return on equity of 8.90%. The company had revenue of $69.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.10 million. As a group, analysts expect that AxoGen, Inc. will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AxoGen

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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