Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Sells 32,489 Shares of AxoGen, Inc. $AXGN

Key Points

• Rice Hall James & Associates cut its AxoGen stake by 28.6% in Q4, selling 32,489 shares and leaving it with 81,143 shares worth about $2.66 million.
• Insider selling has been active, with directors Amy Mcbride Wendell and Kathy Johnson Weiler selling shares in May; insiders have sold 29,041 shares over the past three months.
• Wall Street remains mostly bullish on AxoGen, with nine Buy ratings, one Hold, and one Sell, and an average target price of $46.50 versus the stock’s recent price of $43.40.

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lowered its stake in AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN - Free Report) by 28.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,143 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 32,489 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned about 0.18% of AxoGen worth $2,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in AxoGen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Arax Advisory Partners raised its holdings in shares of AxoGen by 362.4% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 1,045 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AxoGen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AxoGen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AxoGen by 287.8% in the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy Mcbride Wendell sold 1,647 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total transaction of $70,162.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 93,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,996,987.60. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathy Johnson Weiler sold 16,344 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $720,606.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,606.96. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,041 shares of company stock worth $1,268,792. Insiders own 2.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXGN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of AxoGen in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AxoGen in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of AxoGen from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on shares of AxoGen from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of AxoGen from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AxoGen currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.50.

AxoGen Price Performance

Shares of AXGN opened at $43.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.81 and a beta of 1.12. AxoGen, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.22 and a 1-year high of $45.83. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $39.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.81. The company has a current ratio of 7.10, a quick ratio of 5.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.85 million. AxoGen had a negative return on equity of 9.63% and a negative net margin of 13.21%. On average, research analysts forecast that AxoGen, Inc. will post -0.37 earnings per share 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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