Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Artivion (NYSE:AORT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AORT. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Artivion from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Artivion from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Artivion from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $55.00 price objective on Artivion in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Artivion in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Artivion currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Artivion Stock Down 1.8%

AORT stock opened at $37.08 on Friday. Artivion has a fifty-two week low of $23.04 and a fifty-two week high of $48.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $36.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a current ratio of 3.53. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 185.40 and a beta of 1.63.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. Artivion had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 2.21%.The company had revenue of $118.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.42 million. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Artivion will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Artivion

In other Artivion news, EVP Lance A. Berry sold 6,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total transaction of $238,618.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 210,827 shares in the company, valued at $7,965,044.06. This trade represents a 2.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John E. Davis sold 4,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total value of $172,767.94. Following the transaction, the insider owned 230,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,719,397.32. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 133,043 shares of company stock worth $4,977,158. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artivion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Artivion by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,170,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,588,000 after purchasing an additional 141,030 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Artivion by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,256,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,930,000 after purchasing an additional 18,248 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Artivion by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,584,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,288,000 after purchasing an additional 44,641 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Artivion by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,372,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,603,000 after purchasing an additional 55,322 shares during the period. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Artivion in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,044,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.37% of the company’s stock.

About Artivion

Artivion, Inc (NYSE: AORT) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and markets implantable tissue products and surgical devices for cardiac and vascular surgery. The company’s portfolio includes biologic implants derived from human and animal tissue, such as allografts and xenografts, as well as synthetic scaffolds and surgical adhesives. These products are designed to repair, reinforce or replace damaged cardiovascular and thoracic tissues during procedures such as aortic repair, heart valve surgery and vascular reconstruction.

Originally founded in 1984 under the name CryoLife, the company rebranded as Artivion in early 2022 to reflect its broader mission in cardiovascular innovation.