LADENBURG THALM/SH SH Upgrades Artivion (NYSE:AORT) to Buy

Key Points

• LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Artivion (NYSE:AORT) from "neutral" to "buy" and set a $42 price target, implying roughly a 14.9% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with seven Buys and one Hold, giving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.00.
• Artivion recently beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.17 vs. $0.14) with revenue up 19.2% YoY; the stock trades at a market cap of $1.77B and a high P/E (~182.7), while insiders have sold ~133,043 shares (~$5.0M) over the past 90 days and institutions own 86.37% of the shares.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $42.00 target price on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH's price target indicates a potential upside of 14.94% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Artivion from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $55.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Artivion from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Artivion from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Artivion Stock Up 1.3%

AORT stock opened at $36.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 182.71 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Artivion has a 12 month low of $22.22 and a 12 month high of $48.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.72.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. Artivion had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $118.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.42 million. The company's revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Artivion will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Artivion

In related news, insider John E. Davis sold 4,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total transaction of $172,767.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 230,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,719,397.32. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 8,962 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $340,556.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 185,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,033,610. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 133,043 shares of company stock worth $4,977,158. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artivion

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AORT. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its position in Artivion by 402.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 648 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Artivion in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Artivion by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 665 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Artivion by 148.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 942 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas boosted its position in Artivion by 163.5% in the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.37% of the company's stock.

Artivion Company Profile

Artivion, Inc NYSE: AORT is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and markets implantable tissue products and surgical devices for cardiac and vascular surgery. The company’s portfolio includes biologic implants derived from human and animal tissue, such as allografts and xenografts, as well as synthetic scaffolds and surgical adhesives. These products are designed to repair, reinforce or replace damaged cardiovascular and thoracic tissues during procedures such as aortic repair, heart valve surgery and vascular reconstruction.

Originally founded in 1984 under the name CryoLife, the company rebranded as Artivion in early 2022 to reflect its broader mission in cardiovascular innovation.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.