Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Holdings in Artivion, Inc. $AORT

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Artivion, Inc. by 17.5% in Q1, acquiring an additional 25,234 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.40% of the company, valued at $4.17 million.
• Institutional investors now hold 86.37% of Artivion's stock, with other significant recent purchases by various firms totaling over $20 million this quarter.
• Artivion reported a Q2 earnings per share of $0.24, exceeding expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.3%, with current analyst consensus rating remaining a strong "Buy".

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 169,594 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,234 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.40% of Artivion worth $4,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AORT. Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Artivion during the first quarter worth about $7,650,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Artivion during the fourth quarter worth about $5,573,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Artivion during the fourth quarter worth about $4,771,000. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Artivion during the first quarter worth about $3,261,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Artivion during the first quarter worth about $3,162,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.37% of the company's stock.

Artivion Price Performance

Artivion stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $43.80. The company had a trading volume of 447,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,421. Artivion, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.97 and a 1 year high of $45.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 4.78 and a quick ratio of 3.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -104.29 and a beta of 1.64. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $34.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.22.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.96 million. Artivion's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Artivion has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Artivion

In other Artivion news, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.44, for a total value of $743,194.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 79,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,252,448. This trade represents a 24.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 23,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.01, for a total transaction of $1,004,541.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 172,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,403,268.29. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,990 shares of company stock valued at $4,435,823. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AORT. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Artivion in a report on Friday, August 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Artivion from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $38.80 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Artivion from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Artivion from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Artivion presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.63.

Artivion Company 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.