AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.78.

A number of equities analysts have commented on ATRC shares. Oppenheimer raised shares of AtriCure from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of AtriCure from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on AtriCure from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AtriCure from $42.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AtriCure from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at AtriCure

In other AtriCure news, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total value of $36,135.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,717,231.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total transaction of $36,135.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,717,231.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Salvatore Privitera bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.25 per share, with a total value of $111,250.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 103,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,298,202.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AtriCure

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATRC. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of AtriCure by 70.5% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,522 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in AtriCure in the 4th quarter worth about $103,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in AtriCure in the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in AtriCure by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AtriCure during the first quarter valued at about $224,000. Institutional investors own 99.11% of the company’s stock.

AtriCure Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of ATRC stock opened at $23.29 on Friday. AtriCure has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $59.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.11 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.36 and its 200-day moving average is $29.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 4.00.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The medical device company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.02). AtriCure had a negative net margin of 8.98% and a negative return on equity of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $108.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. AtriCure’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AtriCure will post -0.75 EPS for the current year.

AtriCure Company Profile

AtriCure, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells devices for surgical ablation of cardiac tissue, exclusion of the left atrial appendage, and temporarily blocking pain by ablating peripheral nerves to medical centers in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company offers Isolator Synergy Clamps, single-use disposable radio frequency products; multifunctional pens and linear ablation devices, such as the MAX Pen device that enables surgeons to evaluate cardiac arrhythmias, perform temporary cardiac pacing, sensing, and stimulation, and ablate cardiac tissue with the same device; and the Coolrail device, which enables users to make longer linear lines of ablation.