Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $287,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,430,482. This trade represents a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 10,548 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were 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 owns 105,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,068,321.16. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,822 shares of company stock worth $922,831 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Artivion by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Artivion by 3.1% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 20,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Artivion by 109.3% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Artivion by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 727 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Artivion by 236.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AORT shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Artivion to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Artivion in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.40.

Artivion Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AORT traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $28.61. 23,650 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 333,269. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Artivion has a 12 month low of $21.97 and a 12 month high of $32.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,429.50 and a beta of 1.62.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last issued its earnings results 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 company 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Artivion will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

About Artivion

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.