Diker Management LLC Acquires New Position in Artivion, Inc. $AORT

Key Points

• Diker Management LLC acquired a stake in Artivion, Inc. by purchasing 15,000 shares valued at approximately $369,000, making it the company's 23rd largest holding.
• Artivion reported earnings per share of $0.24 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations by $0.13, and its revenue increased by 15.3% year-over-year.
• Multiple brokerages have upgraded Artivion’s ratings and price objectives recently, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.63.

Diker Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $369,000. Artivion makes up 0.4% of Diker Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Artivion by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 463,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,244,000 after purchasing an additional 42,170 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Artivion by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 31,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 2,724 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Artivion by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 36,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 11,501 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Artivion by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 4,686 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Artivion by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. 86.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artivion Price Performance

AORT stock traded down $1.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.68. 432,541 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 416,571. The company has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -96.86 and a beta of 1.70. Artivion, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.97 and a 52-week high of $45.07. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $37.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 4.78.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Artivion had a negative net margin of 4.43% and a positive return on equity of 5.70%. The company had revenue of $112.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.96 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Artivion has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AORT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Artivion in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Artivion from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Artivion from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. 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 research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Artivion from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $38.80 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Artivion presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Artivion

In other Artivion news, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.37, for a total value of $443,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 172,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,637,363.73. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 18,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.02, for a total transaction of $801,164.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 64,200 shares in the company, valued at $2,826,084. This trade represents a 22.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,858 shares of company stock worth $3,692,629 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Artivion

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.