Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Cut to Neutral at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Artivion (NYSE:AORT) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH currently has $38.80 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $32.00.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AORT. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of Artivion in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Artivion to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Artivion from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Artivion from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Artivion in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.80.

Artivion Trading Down 0.4%

AORT opened at $42.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of -101.86 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 4.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.22 and a 200-day moving average of $28.45. Artivion has a 52 week low of $21.97 and a 52 week high of $43.97.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $112.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.96 million. Artivion had a positive return on equity of 5.70% and a negative net margin of 4.43%. The business’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Artivion will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Artivion

In other Artivion news, insider John E. Davis sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $471,723.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 208,778 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,335.26. The trade was a 4.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 23,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.01, for a total transaction of $1,004,541.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 172,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,403,268.29. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $3,277,527. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artivion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Artivion in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Artivion by 109.3% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Artivion by 47.7% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Artivion during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Artivion by 447.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 4,422 shares during the last quarter. 86.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.