Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Invests $3.41 Million in AxoGen, Inc. $AXGN

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 73,903 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,414,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 0.14% of AxoGen as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXGN. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in AxoGen by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,473 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in AxoGen by 6.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,943 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners increased its position in shares of AxoGen by 362.4% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 1,045 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of AxoGen by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 20,568 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AxoGen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AxoGen

In related news, Director Amy Mcbride Wendell sold 13,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.42, for a total transaction of $646,552.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 107,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,228,197.92. This represents a 11.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marc A. Began sold 67,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $3,195,450.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,482,997. Corporate insiders own 2.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of AxoGen in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of AxoGen from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of AxoGen from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on shares of AxoGen from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of AxoGen from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AxoGen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

AxoGen Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of AXGN stock opened at $49.15 on Tuesday. AxoGen, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.64 and a fifty-two week high of $49.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 5.04 and a current ratio of 6.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -72.28 and a beta of 1.11.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12. The business had revenue of $69.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.10 million. AxoGen had a negative net margin of 13.36% and a negative return on equity of 8.90%. Research analysts expect that AxoGen, Inc. will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AxoGen 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.