AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on ATRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered AtriCure from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer downgraded AtriCure from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of AtriCure in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on shares of AtriCure from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of AtriCure in a research report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.43.

AtriCure Trading Up 1.5%

AtriCure stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.88. The stock had a trading volume of 210,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 713,727. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of -136.95 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.87, a quick ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AtriCure has a 12 month low of $28.29 and a 12 month high of $43.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.74.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical device company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.10. AtriCure had a negative net margin of 2.14% and a negative return on equity of 1.17%. The business had revenue of $140.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.33) earnings per share. AtriCure’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AtriCure will post -0.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AtriCure

In other news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 5,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.32, for a total transaction of $187,831.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,282,837.68. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 5,166 shares of AtriCure stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.29, for a total transaction of $192,640.14. Following the transaction, the insider owned 78,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,938,377.42. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 15,166 shares of company stock valued at $569,218 in the last ninety days. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AtriCure

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AtriCure by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 83,685 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $2,700,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AtriCure by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 28,146 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 862,668 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $27,830,000 after buying an additional 8,956 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in AtriCure by 658.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 100,853 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $3,254,000 after purchasing an additional 87,553 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of AtriCure in the first quarter worth about $158,000. 99.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AtriCure

AtriCure, Inc is a medical device company focused on the development, manufacture and marketing of innovative therapies to treat atrial fibrillation (AF) and related conditions. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Mason, Ohio, AtriCure has established itself as a leader in surgical ablation devices designed to interrupt the errant electrical pathways that cause AF. The company’s solutions are used by cardiac surgeons and electrophysiologists to reduce the risk of stroke and improve patient outcomes in the treatment of both paroxysmal and persistent AF.

The company’s product portfolio centers on its Synergy Surgical Ablation System, which delivers controlled radiofrequency energy in a minimally invasive format, and the cryoICE Cryoablation System, which offers an alternative ablation modality using precise freezing techniques.