Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Artivion (NYSE:AORT)

Equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Artivion (NYSE:AORT) in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 35.08% from the stock’s previous close.

AORT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Artivion from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Artivion from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Artivion from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.86.

Artivion Stock Performance

Shares of AORT opened at $22.95 on Tuesday. Artivion has a 1 year low of $19.16 and a 1 year high of $48.25. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.76 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.58 and a 200-day moving average of $26.02.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter. Artivion had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a positive return on equity of 6.07%. The business had revenue of $125.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.99 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Artivion will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Artivion

In related news, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total value of $27,834.73. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 184,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,245,521.82. This represents a 0.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew M. Green sold 11,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.97, for a total transaction of $286,655.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,002,795.20. This represents a 22.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 90,460 shares of company stock worth $2,557,366 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artivion

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Artivion in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $149,965,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Artivion by 9.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,260,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,318,000 after acquiring an additional 103,592 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artivion during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,044,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Artivion by 4.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,027,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,626,000 after acquiring an additional 46,738 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Artivion by 0.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 522,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.37% of the company’s stock.

Artivion Company Profile

Artivion, Inc (NYSE: AORT) is a medical device and biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing products used in cardiac and vascular surgery. Its portfolio includes implantable devices, surgical sealants, and human tissue products designed to treat diseases of the heart, aorta, and peripheral blood vessels.

The company’s products include On-X mechanical heart valves, aortic and vascular grafts, BioGlue surgical adhesive, and stent graft systems for aortic repair. Artivion also provides tissue preservation services and distributes cardiac and vascular allografts for use in reconstructive procedures.

Artivion was formerly known as CryoLife, a company founded in 1984, and adopted the Artivion name in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on aortic and cardiac care.