AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AxoGen in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen cut AxoGen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on AxoGen from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered AxoGen to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.70.

AxoGen Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of AXGN stock opened at $36.18 on Tuesday. AxoGen has a 52-week low of $15.27 and a 52-week high of $52.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.21 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.55 and its 200-day moving average is $41.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 5.04 and a current ratio of 6.60.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts predict that AxoGen will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other AxoGen news, Director Joseph Tyndall sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $173,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,650 shares in the company, valued at $529,305. The trade was a 24.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Amy Wendell sold 13,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.42, for a total value of $646,552.26. Following the sale, the director owned 107,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,228,197.92. The trade was a 11.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,503 shares of company stock valued at $4,656,947. 2.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AxoGen

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in AxoGen by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,943 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in AxoGen during the second quarter worth $30,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in AxoGen by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,604 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AxoGen by 1.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 89,745 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,973,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of AxoGen in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.29% of the company’s stock.

About AxoGen

AxoGen, Inc is a medical technology company focused on repairing and regenerating damaged peripheral nerves. The company develops and commercializes products for use by surgeons treating traumatic nerve injuries and other conditions in which nerve function has been compromised.

AxoGen’s product portfolio includes Avance Nerve Graft, a processed human nerve allograft designed to bridge gaps in damaged nerves without requiring tissue to be taken from another part of the patient’s body. Its offerings also include Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector products, which are designed to support nerve repair and protect nerves during healing, as well as other products for peripheral nerve reconstruction.

Founded in 2002, AxoGen is headquartered in Alachua, Florida.