New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 42,737 Shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Free Report) by 104.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,754 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,737 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.20% of Artivion worth $2,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Artivion by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,777 shares of the company's stock worth $5,083,000 after purchasing an additional 4,749 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Artivion in the first quarter worth about $7,650,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Artivion by 3.1% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 20,519 shares of the company's stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Artivion in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Artivion by 16.2% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 31,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 4,398 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.37% of the company's stock.

Artivion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AORT traded up $0.38 on Friday, reaching $31.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 233,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,749. The stock's 50-day moving average is $30.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.87. Artivion, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.97 and a 52-week high of $32.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 5.53 and a quick ratio of 3.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -62.85 and a beta of 1.62.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.06). Artivion had a negative net margin of 5.49% and a positive return on equity of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $98.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.81 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AORT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Citizens Jmp upgraded Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $32.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anthony B. Semedo sold 2,600 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.47, for a total transaction of $74,022.00. Following the sale, the director owned 33,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,189.73. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 26,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.44, for a total transaction of $743,194.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 79,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,252,448. The trade was a 24.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,954 shares of company stock valued at $2,108,525 in the last quarter. 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.