Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Makes New $3.26 Million Investment in Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 132,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,261,000. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned 0.31% of Artivion at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Artivion by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Artivion by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 20,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Artivion by 109.3% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Artivion by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,559 shares of the company's stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Artivion by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,697 shares of the company's stock worth $2,051,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AORT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Artivion presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.40.

Artivion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AORT traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.95. 284,640 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 419,917. Artivion, Inc. has a one year low of $21.97 and a one year high of $32.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -61.90 and a beta of 1.62. The business's fifty day moving average is $30.27 and its 200-day moving average is $27.90. The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 5.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anthony B. Semedo sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.47, for a total value of $74,022.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,189.73. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total transaction of $442,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 64,200 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,900. This trade represents a 18.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,954 shares of company stock worth $2,108,525 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Artivion 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.