AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Upgraded at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Zacks Research lowered AtriCure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on AtriCure from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on AtriCure from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.43.

AtriCure Price Performance

NASDAQ:ATRC opened at $29.07 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.10 and a 200-day moving average of $35.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -121.13 and a beta of 1.43. AtriCure has a 52 week low of $27.31 and a 52 week high of $43.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a current ratio of 3.96.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical device company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.10. AtriCure had a negative net margin of 2.14% and a negative return on equity of 1.15%. The business had revenue of $140.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.33) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AtriCure will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 96,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,781.25. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AtriCure

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,903,755 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $193,993,000 after purchasing an additional 62,861 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 8.1% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 2.1% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 3,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Light Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AtriCure by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 1,175,445 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $46,501,000 after buying an additional 285,083 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.11% of the company’s stock.

AtriCure Company Profile

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.