AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ATRC. Oppenheimer lowered AtriCure from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on shares of AtriCure from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of AtriCure from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of AtriCure from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of AtriCure in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AtriCure has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.43.

AtriCure Stock Performance

Shares of AtriCure stock opened at $28.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -120.33 and a beta of 1.42. AtriCure has a twelve month low of $28.29 and a twelve month high of $43.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.16 and its 200 day moving average is $35.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.99, a current ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical device company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.10. AtriCure had a negative return on equity of 1.15% and a negative net margin of 2.14%.The business had revenue of $140.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.33) EPS. AtriCure’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AtriCure will post -0.6 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AtriCure news, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 5,000 shares of AtriCure stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $149,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 96,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,781.25. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AtriCure

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ATRC. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its stake in AtriCure by 197.1% in the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 811 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in AtriCure in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AtriCure by 1,818.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in AtriCure in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.11% of the company’s stock.

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.