Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Artivion (NYSE:AORT) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AORT. Wall Street Zen downgraded Artivion from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Artivion from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a report on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Artivion from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.86.

Artivion Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:AORT opened at $23.12 on Tuesday. Artivion has a 12 month low of $19.16 and a 12 month high of $48.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -330.31 and a beta of 1.23.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter. Artivion had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a positive return on equity of 6.07%. The firm had revenue of $125.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.99 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Artivion will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Artivion

In other Artivion news, CEO James Mackin sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.95, for a total value of $2,026,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 877,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,397,111.25. This trade represents a 7.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew Green sold 11,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.97, for a total value of $286,655.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,795.20. This trade represents a 22.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 90,460 shares of company stock valued at $2,557,366. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artivion

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Artivion during the second quarter worth about $149,965,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Artivion by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,260,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,318,000 after buying an additional 103,592 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artivion during the 1st quarter worth about $43,044,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Artivion by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,027,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,626,000 after acquiring an additional 46,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Artivion by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 522,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,980 shares during the last quarter. 86.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artivion Company Profile

Artivion, Inc (NYSE: AORT) is a medical device company focused on products and services for cardiac and vascular surgery. The company develops, manufactures and distributes implantable devices, surgical adhesives and preserved human tissues used in the treatment of complex cardiovascular conditions.

Its product portfolio includes On-X mechanical heart valves and related repair technologies, BioGlue surgical adhesive, aortic stent grafts and other devices for aortic repair. Artivion also provides tissue preservation services and distributes cardiac and vascular allografts for use in surgical procedures.

The company was formerly known as CryoLife, Inc and adopted the Artivion name in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on cardiovascular and aortic therapies.