Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Reaches New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $25.51 and last traded at $24.46, with a volume of 138591 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.07.

The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.04. Artivion had a negative net margin of 8.67% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.02 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Artivion from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Artivion from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James P. Mackin sold 13,996 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total value of $262,005.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 705,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,208,120.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO James P. Mackin sold 13,996 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total value of $262,005.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 705,562 shares in the company, valued at $13,208,120.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 3,527 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.86, for a total transaction of $66,519.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 131,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,486,841.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 149,952 shares of company stock valued at $2,891,627 over the last three months. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Artivion

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Artivion by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,083,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,928,000 after acquiring an additional 564,549 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Artivion by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 526,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,982,000 after acquiring an additional 143,146 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Artivion by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,686,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,156,000 after acquiring an additional 80,214 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Artivion during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,034,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Artivion by 187.5% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 82,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 53,773 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.37% of the company’s stock.

Artivion Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $20.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 3.43 and a current ratio of 4.85. The stock has a market cap of $979.32 million, a PE ratio of -31.69 and a beta of 1.66.

About Artivion

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.