AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered AtriCure from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AtriCure in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AtriCure in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.43.

AtriCure Stock Up 0.6%

ATRC opened at $32.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -135.75 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.71. AtriCure has a twelve month low of $28.29 and a twelve month high of $43.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.85, a current ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical device company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $140.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.50 million. AtriCure had a negative net margin of 2.14% and a negative return on equity of 1.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.33) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AtriCure will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 4,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $188,746.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,306,212. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 5,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.29, for a total transaction of $192,640.14. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 78,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,938,377.42. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,166 shares of company stock valued at $569,218 in the last quarter. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AtriCure

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ATRC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,903,755 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $193,993,000 after purchasing an additional 62,861 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in AtriCure by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,292,087 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $151,296,000 after buying an additional 322,818 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AtriCure by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 3,061,059 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $100,311,000 after buying an additional 61,852 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,189,739 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $38,969,000 after acquiring an additional 3,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AtriCure by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,181,737 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $38,731,000 after acquiring an additional 14,577 shares during the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.