AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $51.56 and last traded at $51.53, with a volume of 359011 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXGN. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of AxoGen from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on AxoGen from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on AxoGen from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AxoGen from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.56.

AxoGen Stock Up 3.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 6.60 and a quick ratio of 5.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.88 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.35 and its 200 day moving average is $39.19.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12. AxoGen had a negative net margin of 13.36% and a negative return on equity of 8.90%. The company had revenue of $69.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.10 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.30, for a total transaction of $640,995.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 50,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,390.90. This trade represents a 57.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,003 shares of company stock worth $4,482,997. 2.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AxoGen

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AXGN. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in AxoGen by 14.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,043 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 4,723 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AxoGen by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,917 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 7,453 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AxoGen by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,185 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of AxoGen by 104,810.0% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 10,491 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 10,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in AxoGen by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 379,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,113,000 after purchasing an additional 103,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.29% of the company’s stock.

AxoGen Company Profile

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.