384,200 AxoGen, Inc. $AXGN Shares Bought by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN) by 27.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,780,992 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 384,200 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in AxoGen were worth $74,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in AxoGen in the second quarter valued at about $204,123,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of AxoGen by 101.1% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,857,350 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $61,534,000 after acquiring an additional 933,778 shares in the last quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AxoGen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,180,000. Perceptive Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AxoGen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,665,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of AxoGen during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,190,000. Institutional investors own 80.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marc Began sold 67,500 shares of AxoGen stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $3,195,450.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph Tyndall sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $173,950.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,305. This represents a 24.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 98,503 shares of company stock worth $4,656,947 over the last ninety days. 2.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AXGN shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AxoGen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AxoGen to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of AxoGen from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of AxoGen in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AxoGen in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.70.

AxoGen Stock Performance

AXGN stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $36.11. The company had a trading volume of 547,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,140,481. AxoGen, Inc. has a one year low of $15.27 and a one year high of $52.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -53.10 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 5.04, a current ratio of 6.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.87.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12. The business had revenue of $69.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.10 million. AxoGen had a negative net margin of 13.36% and a negative return on equity of 8.90%. Research analysts anticipate that AxoGen, Inc. will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

AxoGen Profile

AxoGen, Inc is a medical technology company focused on repairing and regenerating damaged peripheral nerves. The company develops and commercializes products for use by surgeons treating traumatic nerve injuries and other conditions in which nerve function has been compromised.

AxoGen’s product portfolio includes Avance Nerve Graft, a processed human nerve allograft designed to bridge gaps in damaged nerves without requiring tissue to be taken from another part of the patient’s body. Its offerings also include Axoguard Nerve Connector and Axoguard Nerve Protector products, which are designed to support nerve repair and protect nerves during healing, as well as other products for peripheral nerve reconstruction.

Founded in 2002, AxoGen is headquartered in Alachua, Florida.