Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,580,000 shares, a drop of 63.6% from the May 15th total of 4,340,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 462,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AORT shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Artivion to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Artivion from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Artivion in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 10,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.13, for a total transaction of $307,263.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,068,321.16. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 9,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $287,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,430,482. This represents a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,822 shares of company stock worth $922,831. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Artivion

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AORT. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Artivion by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,727,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,460,000 after buying an additional 67,327 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Artivion by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,041,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,791,000 after acquiring an additional 226,160 shares in the last quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its position in Artivion by 107.6% during the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 1,022,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,140,000 after acquiring an additional 530,122 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Artivion by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 463,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,244,000 after purchasing an additional 42,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in Artivion by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 401,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,879,000 after purchasing an additional 95,202 shares during the period. 86.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artivion Stock Performance

AORT traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $28.61. The company had a trading volume of 23,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 333,269. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,429.50 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.88. Artivion has a fifty-two week low of $21.97 and a fifty-two week high of $32.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $26.46 and its 200 day moving average is $27.48.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $98.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.81 million. Artivion had a positive return on equity of 5.15% and a negative net margin of 0.22%. As a group, analysts predict that Artivion will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artivion Company Profile

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.