AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $28.33, but opened at $31.07. AxoGen shares last traded at $33.41, with a volume of 1,061,409 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AXGN shares. Mizuho assumed coverage on AxoGen in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Citizens Jmp boosted 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AxoGen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of AxoGen in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AxoGen presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

AxoGen Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -681.50 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 4.09.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William P. Mr. Burke sold 40,235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $826,829.25. Following the sale, the director owned 100 shares in the company, valued at $2,055. This represents a 99.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 133,600 shares of company stock valued at $2,839,945. Insiders own 2.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank purchased a new stake in AxoGen in the 1st quarter worth approximately $146,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of AxoGen by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 23,111 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 5,805 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $46,964,000 after buying an additional 112,679 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank purchased a new stake in AxoGen during the first quarter worth $1,498,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in AxoGen by 17.7% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 339,711 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,285,000 after buying an additional 50,966 shares during the period. 80.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AxoGen Company Profile

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.