Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $30.00. The stock had previously closed at $27.85, but opened at $25.80. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Artivion shares last traded at $26.11, with a volume of 87,865 shares changing hands.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Artivion from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Artivion from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.40.

Insider Activity

In other Artivion news, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 8,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.12, for a total transaction of $243,068.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 153,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,634,323.44. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amy Horton sold 4,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.66, for a total transaction of $128,398.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 135,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,023,675.60. This represents a 3.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,017 shares of company stock valued at $600,007 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artivion

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AORT. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Artivion by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,041,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,791,000 after purchasing an additional 226,160 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artivion during the third quarter valued at about $5,798,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Artivion during the fourth quarter worth about $5,573,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Artivion in the 4th quarter worth about $4,771,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Artivion by 602.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 157,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,179,000 after acquiring an additional 134,642 shares in the last quarter. 86.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Artivion Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,306.00 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.83. 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 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.