AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AxoGen

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Light Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of AxoGen by 336.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 3,344,033 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $24,211,000 after purchasing an additional 2,578,147 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in AxoGen by 2,014.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,310,811 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,823 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in AxoGen by 4.5% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 790,647 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $6,381,000 after buying an additional 34,399 shares during the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of AxoGen by 587.2% in the second quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 686,994 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,974,000 after buying an additional 587,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kent Lake Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AxoGen during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,617,000. 80.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AxoGen Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AXGN opened at $14.29 on Tuesday. AxoGen has a 1 year low of $3.45 and a 1 year high of $14.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 3.51 and a quick ratio of 2.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.68 and a 200 day moving average of $8.46. The stock has a market cap of $624.54 million, a P/E ratio of -28.58 and a beta of 1.12.

AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $47.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.27 million. AxoGen had a negative net margin of 9.53% and a negative return on equity of 17.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AxoGen will post -0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXGN shares. Raymond James started coverage on shares of AxoGen in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of AxoGen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on AxoGen from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of AxoGen in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.80.

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.