Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Makes New Investment in AxoGen, Inc. $AXGN

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new stake in AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 90,565 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,183,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC owned about 0.17% of AxoGen at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXGN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of AxoGen by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,043 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AxoGen by 45.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,917 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 7,453 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in AxoGen by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,185 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in AxoGen by 104,810.0% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 10,491 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 10,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in AxoGen by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 379,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,113,000 after buying an additional 103,072 shares during the last quarter. 80.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AXGN. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AxoGen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AxoGen from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AxoGen in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of AxoGen in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AxoGen has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Marc A. Began sold 67,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $3,195,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 50,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,373,390.90. This trade represents a 57.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Kathy Johnson Weiler sold 14,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.30, for a total transaction of $640,995.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 95,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,482,997 over the last three months. 2.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AxoGen Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ AXGN opened at $48.93 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.79. AxoGen, Inc. has a one year low of $13.64 and a one year high of $50.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 5.04 and a current ratio of 6.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -71.95 and a beta of 1.11.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12. AxoGen had a negative return on equity of 8.90% and a negative net margin of 13.36%.The firm had revenue of $69.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.10 million. Analysts expect that AxoGen, Inc. will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

AxoGen Profile

AxoGen, Inc is a Florida-based medical technology company that develops and commercializes surgical solutions for peripheral nerve damage. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Alachua, Florida, the company focuses on restoring nerve function and improving patient outcomes through innovative biologic and engineered products. AxoGen’s offerings address a range of traumatic and iatrogenic injuries, offering alternatives to traditional nerve autografts.

The company’s core product portfolio includes the Avance® Nerve Graft, a decellularized human nerve allograft designed to bridge nerve gaps without the need for a secondary harvest site, and the Axoguard® Nerve Connector and Protector devices, which facilitate nerve coaptation and protect repaired sites from surrounding scar tissue.