AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) Trading 5.4% Higher – Here’s Why

AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN)’s share price traded up 5.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $31.27 and last traded at $30.93. 583,318 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 852,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AXGN shares. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on AxoGen from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JMP Securities set a $34.00 price objective on shares of AxoGen in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of AxoGen from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.56.

AxoGen Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of -624.60 and a beta of 1.06.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $60.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.90 million. AxoGen had a negative return on equity of 1.90% and a negative net margin of 0.98%. Analysts expect that AxoGen, Inc. will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AxoGen

In other news, CEO Michael D. Dale sold 61,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.21, for a total transaction of $1,918,260.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 88,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,763,239.77. The trade was a 40.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marc A. Began sold 9,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.21, for a total transaction of $289,566.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $983,333.47. The trade was a 22.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 328,994 shares of company stock valued at $8,894,215. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Light Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AxoGen by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 5,805,730 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $103,574,000 after buying an additional 1,276,487 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in AxoGen by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,538,607 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $46,964,000 after acquiring an additional 112,679 shares during the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of AxoGen by 20.4% in the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 1,958,406 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,938,000 after acquiring an additional 332,498 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of AxoGen by 183.9% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of AxoGen by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,639,351 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,246,000 after acquiring an additional 205,569 shares during the last quarter. 80.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AxoGen

AxoGen, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and commercializes technologies for peripheral nerve regeneration and repair worldwide. The company’s products include Avance Nerve Graft, a biologically active off-the-shelf processed human nerve allograft for bridging severed peripheral nerves without the comorbidities associated with a second surgical site; AxoGuard Nerve Connector, a porcine submucosa extracellular matrix (ECM) coaptation aid for tensionless repair of severed peripheral nerves; AxoGuard Nerve Protector, a porcine submucosa ECM product that is used to wrap and protect damaged peripheral nerves, as well as reinforces the nerve reconstruction while preventing soft tissue attachments; and Axoguard HA+ Nerve Protector, a processed porcine submucosa ECM base layer with a hyaluronate-alginate gel coating designed to provide short- and long-term protection for peripheral nerve injuries.