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

Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,220,000 shares, an increase of 7.3% from the October 31st total of 3,000,000 shares. Currently, 8.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 223,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 14.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amy Horton sold 12,430 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total transaction of $325,417.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 139,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,664,912.02. This represents a 8.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew M. Green sold 7,618 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $228,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,503 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,090. This represents a 18.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AORT. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Artivion in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Artivion by 210.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Artivion during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. RW Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Artivion during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Artivion during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.37% of the company’s stock.

Artivion Trading Down 0.1 %

AORT opened at $29.65 on Thursday. Artivion has a one year low of $16.48 and a one year high of $30.10. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,482.50 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AORT. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Artivion from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JMP Securities began coverage on Artivion in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Artivion from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Artivion currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

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.