Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Sells 45,709 Shares of AxoGen, Inc. $AXGN

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN) by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 113,632 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 45,709 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in AxoGen were worth $2,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of AxoGen by 183.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,931,158 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $20,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,968 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in AxoGen by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,433,782 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $15,557,000 after acquiring an additional 659,149 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in AxoGen by 106.5% in the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,111,319 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $12,058,000 after purchasing an additional 573,041 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in AxoGen by 259.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 483,563 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,247,000 after purchasing an additional 348,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in AxoGen by 69.3% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 728,741 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,907,000 after purchasing an additional 298,416 shares during the last quarter. 80.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AxoGen Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AXGN opened at $32.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.40. AxoGen, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.22 and a 12 month high of $34.24. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of -656.00 and a beta of 1.06.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. AxoGen had a negative net margin of 0.98% and a negative return on equity of 1.90%. The company had revenue of $60.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.90 million. Equities analysts expect that AxoGen, Inc. will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXGN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of AxoGen from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of AxoGen from $26.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of AxoGen from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their target price on AxoGen from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AxoGen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael D. Dale sold 61,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.21, for a total value of $1,918,260.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 88,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,763,239.77. This represents a 40.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy Mcbride Wendell sold 43,684 shares of AxoGen stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total value of $1,280,378.04. Following the sale, the director owned 93,826 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,040.06. This represents a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 434,143 shares of company stock worth $11,995,476. Company insiders own 2.78% of the company’s stock.

About AxoGen

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.