AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Trading Up 4.9% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC)’s share price shot up 4.9% on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $35.19 and last traded at $35.31. 373,568 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 654,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.67.

The medical device company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $123.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.92 million. AtriCure had a negative net margin of 9.61% and a negative return on equity of 6.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.28) earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on AtriCure from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on AtriCure from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of AtriCure from $66.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AtriCure news, Director Karen Prange sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total transaction of $232,532.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $679,603.36. This trade represents a 25.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of AtriCure by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 56,843 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in AtriCure by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,751 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in AtriCure by 65.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,360 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in AtriCure in the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AtriCure during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.11% of the company’s stock.

AtriCure Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of -36.47 and a beta of 1.65.

About AtriCure

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.