AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer lowered AtriCure from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.43.

AtriCure Stock Performance

Shares of AtriCure stock opened at $32.58 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.87, a quick ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AtriCure has a 12 month low of $28.29 and a 12 month high of $43.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -135.75 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 5,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.32, for a total value of $187,831.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,282,837.68. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 5,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,938,377.42. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,166 shares of company stock valued at $569,218. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AtriCure

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in AtriCure by 6.7% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,941 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AtriCure by 6.5% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,188 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in AtriCure by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,512 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in AtriCure by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of AtriCure by 1.2% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 37,677 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.