BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in AxoGen, Inc. $AXGN

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,419,208 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,123,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 0.08% of AxoGen as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Light Asset Management LLC boosted its position in AxoGen by 1.2% during the second quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 4,529,243 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $49,142,000 after purchasing an additional 55,028 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AxoGen by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,869,955 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $93,934,000 after buying an additional 190,557 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in AxoGen by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,586,870 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $84,668,000 after acquiring an additional 157,029 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of AxoGen by 183.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,931,158 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $20,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,968 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of AxoGen by 101.1% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,857,350 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $61,534,000 after purchasing an additional 933,778 shares during the last quarter. 80.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on AxoGen from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AxoGen in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of AxoGen in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of AxoGen in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded AxoGen from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.56.

AxoGen Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ AXGN opened at $51.73 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of -76.07 and a beta of 1.11. AxoGen, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.24 and a fifty-two week high of $52.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 6.60 and a quick ratio of 5.04.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.12. AxoGen had a negative return on equity of 8.90% and a negative net margin of 13.36%.The company had revenue of $69.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.10 million. Equities analysts expect that AxoGen, Inc. will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AxoGen

In other AxoGen news, Director Kathy Johnson Weiler sold 14,150 shares of AxoGen stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.30, for a total value of $640,995.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marc A. Began sold 67,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $3,195,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 50,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,390.90. The trade was a 57.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 95,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,482,997 over the last ninety days. 2.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.