Bessemer Group Inc. Decreases Stake in AxoGen, Inc. $AXGN

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its position in AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN) by 42.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 465,604 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 345,347 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in AxoGen were worth $15,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXGN. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AxoGen by 287.8% in the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of AxoGen in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of AxoGen by 189.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,079 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 3,327 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AxoGen in the third quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in AxoGen during the second quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 80.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AxoGen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on AxoGen from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on AxoGen from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

AxoGen Trading Up 0.1%

AXGN opened at $40.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -64.05 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.04. AxoGen, Inc. has a one year low of $9.22 and a one year high of $45.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 5.33 and a current ratio of 7.10.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $61.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.85 million. AxoGen had a negative return on equity of 9.63% and a negative net margin of 13.21%. On average, equities analysts forecast that AxoGen, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amy Mcbride Wendell sold 1,647 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total transaction of $70,162.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 93,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,996,987.60. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Johnson sold 11,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total value of $478,023.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,023. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,262 shares of company stock worth $1,440,250. 2.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AxoGen Company 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.