Oppenheimer raised its price target on Artivion Inc. (NYSE:AORT) to $40.00 from $32.00 on Friday, while maintaining an Outperform rating following the company’s second-quarter earnings report. The medical device company, with a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, is trading near its 52-week high of $33.39
Artivion reported second-quarter revenue of $113 million, representing 14% year-over-year growth on a pro forma, constant currency basis. The results exceeded both Oppenheimer’s and consensus estimates of $109 million and $108 million, respectively. The company maintains strong operational efficiency with a gross margin of 63.94% and a healthy liquidity position, reflected in its robust current ratio of 5.53.
The company saw significant growth across product lines, with aortic stents/grafts increasing 22% and On-X products rising 24%, driven by cross-selling initiatives and new data. A cyber incident from the fourth quarter of 2024 had a $1.7 million impact on the second quarter, with the remaining tissue backlog expected to clear by the end of the third quarter.
Artivion received FDA IDE approval to begin its Arcevo-LSA pivotal trial, with enrollment expected to start before year-end. The company also announced it had raised its full-year 2025 revenue guidance to $435-443 million from the previous $423-435 million range.
Oppenheimer cited Artivion’s consistent performance in meeting or exceeding expectations as a key factor in its decision to raise the price target, noting that AMDS and NEXUS products could further accelerate growth if current timelines hold.
Through the Sanctioning Russia Act, bipartisan lawmakers are preparing to impose a 500% tariff — an all-out signal to the Kremlin and its partners: de-escalate the war inUkraineor face steep economic consequences.
The measure, crafted by Sens.Lindsey Graham(R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), grants PresidentDonald Trumpbroad authority to impose economic penalties on Russia.
These colossal tariffs would target the heart of Russia’s economy — its oil and gas exports — if Moscow continues to defy peace efforts or escalate the conflict.
The bipartisan legislation comes as Russia’s war in Ukraine stretches into its third year and fifth month, with the Kremlin showing no signs of abandoning its ambition to dismantle Ukrainian sovereignty and resurrect the influence of the former Soviet empire.
The legislation permits 500% secondary tariffs on imports from countries that continue doing business with Russia — most notably China, Brazil and India.
Secondary tariffs are trade penalties aimed at third-party nations that maintain economic ties with a sanctioned country. In this case, they serve as an indirect means of pressuring Russia by punishing its trading partners.
The proposed measure comes as Washington seeks additional ways to further isolate Moscow’s economy.
Trump has previously singled out countries like India and China — the top purchasers of discounted Russian crude — for undermining G7 price caps and blunting the impact of Western sanctions.
Additionally, the Sanctioning Russia Act authorizes Trump to raise tariffs on Russian imports to the U.S. by up to 500% — though bilateral trade has sharply declined since the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In the wake of the Kremlin’s unprovoked war in Ukraine, the U.S. and European Union unleashed a war chest of coordinated sanctions aimed at crippling the Russian economy.
In addition to the 500% tariffs authorized by the legislation, Trump has previously vowed to impose 100% secondary tariffs on any nation that maintains trade ties with Russia. It remains unclear whether he intends to pursue both measures simultaneously.
The Kremlin said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to hold a meeting with Trump and potentially Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "in the coming days." The meeting would mark the first between Putin and Zelenskyy since the start of Moscow's war.
US electronics retail giant Best Buy plans to increase staffing at its India technology centre by more than 40% in the coming months, a senior company executive told Reuters. The move comes as more global corporations establish operations in the country to tap into its fast-growing tech talent pool.
The company opened its first tech centre — also known as a global capability centre (GCC) — in Bengaluru last year. The hub currently employs around 350 professionals across functions such as data and artificial intelligence (AI) and is expected to scale up to between 500 and 550 employees.
GCCs, once regarded primarily as low-cost outsourcing units, have evolved significantly in recent years. They now support their parent organisations in multiple areas, from daily operations and finance to research and development.
“We will be hiring across functions … We will be doing a lot of digital and tech hiring,” said Nithya Subramanian, Senior Director, Data & AI COE, speaking on the sidelines of an event in Chennai.
According to Best Buy’s LinkedIn listings, the company is actively recruiting for positions including AI engineers, software engineers, and product managers in India.
“Even if you look at the global strength, I think we are growing leaps and bounds in India,” Subramanian added, noting that the Bengaluru office is now Best Buy’s largest tech hub — surpassing the size of its three technology centres in the United States.
Best Buy operates over 1,000 stores in the US and Canada, employing more than 85,000 people. The company does not run retail operations in India, but its Bengaluru tech hub has become key for its digital and AI-driven capabilities.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that sex changes for transgender children is something she’s working for “at the national level.”
Earlier in the day, Pelosi toured the San Francisco VA Medical Center to review health-system upgrades, research initiatives and—according to a press release from her staff—the threat that House Republicans might slash core veterans’ services.
While speaking with reporters, she was asked how her office was responding to pauses to “gender-affirming care” in California.
“That is something I’m working for at the national level, and we are hoping we can have gender-affirming care for our trans kids,” Pelosi said. “It’s a sad thing for us… I don’t know what effect we can have nationally with what we have going on in the White House and in Congress.”
She called the situation “really sad, adding that a transgender-pride flag—five horizontal stripes of light blue, pink and white—hangs outside her office.
Pelosi also said several colleagues display the same flag.
She acknowledged that many Republicans on Capitol Hill oppose medical transition for transgender youth.
Pelosi was asked about “gender-affirming care” while speaking with reporters during her visit to the San Francisco VA Medical Center.AP
Still, she is not alone in her stance on sex changes for kids.
Earlier this month, over a dozen officials from Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from blocking access to sex change procedures and treatments for people under the age of 19.
The complaint, which was filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues that the Trump administration wants to impose a nationwide ban on sex change procedures by threatening providers with “baseless criminal charges” and investigations.
Democrats are trying to stop the Trump administration from blocking sex change procedures people under the age of 19.AP
The lawsuit names President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department as defendants.
It challenges Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order barring government support for sex change operations and treatments and two memos by Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate.
Pelosi’s office told Fox News Digital the Democrat was referring to this lawsuit when she spoke about supporting sex changes for children.
Shumate’s memo directs prosecutors to prioritize investigations against doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that perform such procedures.
In July, Kaiser Permanente announced that it would pause sex change surgeries for patients under 19 beginning Aug. 29 in response to the Trump administration’s efforts on the matter.
The same month, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shuttered its Center for Trans Youth Health and Development, one of the nation’s largest clinics for transgender young people.
A person waved a trans pride flag at the WorldPride Parade in Washington, DC.Jen Golbeck/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
The Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, also announced that it will no longer provide gender transition-related medical interventions.
Many states have laws restricting or banning sex change surgeries for children.
The states named in the lawsuit – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington DC, and Wisconsin. – allow such procedures.
'Make America Healthy Again' (MAHA) coverage in the corporate media has spiked in recent days, marking one of the highest story counts in months. The timing isn't a coincidence, given that the 'back to school' season is fast approaching and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is preparing to roll out new national dietary guidelines next month.
On Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new nutrition survey showing that Americans receive more than half of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods, with salty and sugary items making up an even larger share of children's diets. This heavily processed diet is fueling America's health crisis.
Here are the highlights from the CDC's new report titled "Ultra-processed Food Consumption in Youth and Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023":
Overall: Americans aged 1+ consumed 55% of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods.
Youth (ages 1–18): Averaged 61.9%, with the highest intake in children aged 6–11 (64.8%).
Adults (19+): Averaged 53%, with intake decreasing as age increases (down to 51.7% for those 60+).
Top sources: Sandwiches (incl. burgers), sweet bakery goods, savory snacks, sweetened beverages, pizza (for youth), and breads/tortillas (for adults).
CDC explained, "Ultra-processed foods tend to be hyperpalatable, energy-dense, low in dietary fiber, and contain little or no whole foods, while having high amounts of salt, sweeteners, and unhealthy fats. Ultra-processed food consumption has been associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality."
Here are the ultra-processed food groups that were top sources of calories among youth and adults...
The findings support Secretary Kennedy's move to revise U.S. dietary guidelines and reduce reliance on the processed foods industrial complex.
On Monday, Secretary Kennedy and others celebrated "MAHA Monday" with the announcement that six more states have agreed to remove junk food from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Speaking at the press conference earlier this week at the White House, Secretary Kennedy said, "Taxpayer dollars shouldn't go to junk food that makes our kids sick. We're fixing that—state by state, step by step—to Make America Healthy Again."
