Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Stock Price Down 4.3% – Should You Sell?

Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) fell 4.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $24.06 and last traded at $23.9420. 96,287 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 598,663 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AORT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Artivion from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Artivion from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $45.00 target price on shares of Artivion in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Artivion from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Artivion Stock Down 4.8%

The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -340.37 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.32 and its 200-day moving average is $28.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.47.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $125.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.99 million. Artivion had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a positive return on equity of 6.07%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Artivion

In other Artivion news, SVP Andrew M. Green sold 11,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.97, for a total transaction of $286,655.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,795.20. The trade was a 22.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total transaction of $27,834.73. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 184,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,245,521.82. The trade was a 0.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 90,460 shares of company stock valued at $2,557,366. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artivion

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AORT. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Artivion by 73.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 93,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,430,000 after acquiring an additional 39,553 shares during the period. Orbimed Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Artivion in the first quarter valued at $5,530,000. Summit Creek Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artivion during the second quarter worth about $2,704,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Artivion by 58,029.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 123,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,513,000 after purchasing an additional 123,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Artivion by 47.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 168,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,153,000 after buying an additional 53,728 shares during the last quarter. 86.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Artivion

Artivion, Inc is a medical device company focused on developing and supplying products used in cardiac and vascular surgery. The company’s portfolio includes implantable devices, surgical products and preservation technologies designed to treat diseases of the heart and aorta.

Its products include the On-X mechanical heart valve, aortic stent grafts and surgical grafts, as well as BioGlue Surgical Adhesive and other products used to control bleeding and reinforce tissue during cardiovascular procedures.