D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 49,834 Shares of AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,462 shares of the medical device company’s stock after selling 49,834 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.14% of AtriCure worth $2,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATRC. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in AtriCure during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,168,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AtriCure by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 752,580 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $22,999,000 after acquiring an additional 172,648 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in AtriCure by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 619,166 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $18,922,000 after acquiring an additional 167,476 shares during the last quarter. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AtriCure during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,630,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AtriCure by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 700,212 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $21,398,000 after buying an additional 136,015 shares during the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AtriCure news, Director Karen Prange sold 6,100 shares of AtriCure stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 owns 17,828 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through this link. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AtriCure Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:ATRC opened at $34.05 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.40 and its 200 day moving average is $34.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 3.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.84 and a beta of 1.57. AtriCure, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $43.11.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical device company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.11. AtriCure had a negative return on equity of 6.80% and a negative net margin of 9.61%. The company had revenue of $123.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.28) earnings per share. AtriCure’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AtriCure, Inc. will post -0.6 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ATRC shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on AtriCure from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on AtriCure from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group cut their target price on AtriCure from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on AtriCure from $66.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AtriCure currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.67.

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.