AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ATRC. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of AtriCure from $64.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of AtriCure from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of AtriCure from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut AtriCure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered AtriCure from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AtriCure currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.43.

AtriCure Price Performance

NASDAQ:ATRC opened at $32.58 on Friday. AtriCure has a 52-week low of $28.29 and a 52-week high of $43.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.22 and a 200 day moving average of $36.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a current ratio of 3.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -135.75 and a beta of 1.42.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $140.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.50 million. AtriCure had a negative return on equity of 1.15% and a negative net margin of 2.14%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.33) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AtriCure will post -0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AtriCure news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 4,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $188,746.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 34,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,306,212. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 5,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.29, for a total value of $192,640.14. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 78,798 shares in the company, valued at $2,938,377.42. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AtriCure

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATRC. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AtriCure by 1.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,181,737 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $38,731,000 after buying an additional 14,577 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in AtriCure in the 2nd quarter worth $284,000. Nicholas Company Inc. grew its holdings in AtriCure by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 192,635 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $6,313,000 after acquiring an additional 15,135 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of AtriCure by 64.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 186,965 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $6,127,000 after acquiring an additional 73,468 shares during the period. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AtriCure by 79.2% during the third quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 60,322 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 26,657 shares during the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AtriCure Company Profile

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.