Mizuho Begins Coverage on AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN)

Equities researchers at Mizuho started coverage on shares of AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the medical equipment provider’s stock. Mizuho’s target price points to a potential upside of 41.78% from the stock’s current price.

AXGN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of AxoGen from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on AxoGen from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AxoGen in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on AxoGen from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of AxoGen in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AxoGen currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.25.

AxoGen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AXGN traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $28.21. The stock had a trading volume of 353,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 837,556. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -563.56 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.88. 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 has a 12-month low of $9.22 and a 12-month high of $29.32.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. AxoGen had a negative return on equity of 1.90% and a negative net margin of 0.98%.The company had revenue of $60.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.90 million. On average, research analysts forecast that AxoGen will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AxoGen

In related news, Director William P. Mr. Burke sold 40,235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $826,829.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,055. This represents a 99.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 133,600 shares of company stock worth $2,839,945 over the last ninety days. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AxoGen

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AxoGen by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 241,592 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,310,000 after buying an additional 45,592 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in AxoGen by 8.0% in the third quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,200,000 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,408,000 after acquiring an additional 88,681 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in AxoGen by 14.3% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,639,351 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,246,000 after acquiring an additional 205,569 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in AxoGen during the third quarter valued at about $1,133,000. Finally, Stone Run Capital LLC lifted its stake in AxoGen by 2.7% during the third quarter. Stone Run Capital LLC now owns 94,526 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.29% of the company’s stock.

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.