AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN) Short Interest Update

AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,980,000 shares, an increase of 10.0% from the August 15th total of 1,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 433,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXGN. JMP Securities upped their price target on AxoGen from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of AxoGen in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Raymond James initiated coverage on AxoGen in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AxoGen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AxoGen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.80.

Institutional Trading of AxoGen

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of AxoGen by 186.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 60,913 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 39,624 shares in the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AxoGen by 336.6% during the second quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 3,344,033 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $24,211,000 after buying an additional 2,578,147 shares during the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP boosted its stake in AxoGen by 587.2% during the second quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 686,994 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,974,000 after buying an additional 587,024 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its stake in AxoGen by 26.8% during the second quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 194,269 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 41,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new position in AxoGen during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.29% of the company’s stock.

AxoGen Stock Performance

AXGN stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Monday, reaching $14.29. The stock had a trading volume of 426,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,143. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.46. The firm has a market cap of $624.54 million, a PE ratio of -28.58 and a beta of 1.12. AxoGen has a 52 week low of $3.45 and a 52 week high of $14.50.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $47.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.27 million. AxoGen had a negative return on equity of 17.30% and a negative net margin of 9.53%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AxoGen will post -0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.