Bellevue Group AG Lowers Holdings in AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC)

Bellevue Group AG trimmed its holdings in AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) by 45.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 447,376 shares of the medical device company’s stock after selling 370,507 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG owned approximately 0.94% of AtriCure worth $13,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATRC. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in AtriCure in the fourth quarter worth approximately $103,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in AtriCure during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in AtriCure by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its stake in AtriCure by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 7,136 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AtriCure by 8.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,371 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on ATRC shares. Oppenheimer upgraded AtriCure from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on AtriCure from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on AtriCure from $42.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

AtriCure Stock Performance

Shares of ATRC stock traded down $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.10. 693,923 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 939,669. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.62 and a beta of 1.44. AtriCure, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $57.99. 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 issued 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 return on equity of 7.85% and a negative net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $108.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that AtriCure, Inc. will post -0.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

AtriCure 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.