AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) Shares Sold by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. reduced its position in shares of AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) by 17.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 377,822 shares of the medical device company’s stock after selling 78,940 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in AtriCure were worth $11,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AtriCure during the fourth quarter valued at $9,254,000. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in AtriCure by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 720,677 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $21,923,000 after purchasing an additional 200,799 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in AtriCure by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 881,826 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $31,472,000 after purchasing an additional 193,769 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in AtriCure by 71.6% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 444,801 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $13,531,000 after purchasing an additional 185,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of AtriCure by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,329,457 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $47,448,000 after purchasing an additional 95,824 shares during the period. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AtriCure Price Performance

NASDAQ:ATRC traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $26.15. 305,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 753,820. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 4.00 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.80. AtriCure, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $59.61.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The medical device company reported ($0.25) earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that AtriCure, Inc. will post -0.75 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ATRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on AtriCure from $42.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on AtriCure from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of AtriCure in a report on Monday, July 8th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of AtriCure from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Salvatore Privitera acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.25 per share, for a total transaction of $111,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 103,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,202.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Salvatore Privitera purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,717,231.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.