Wall Street Zen Upgrades AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) to “Strong-Buy”

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

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of AtriCure from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AtriCure in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $64.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of AtriCure from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of AtriCure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.43.

AtriCure Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of ATRC stock opened at $32.58 on Friday. AtriCure has a 12 month low of $28.29 and a 12 month high of $43.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -135.75 and a beta of 1.41. 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 (NASDAQ:ATRC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical device company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $140.50 million for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.33) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AtriCure will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AtriCure

In other news, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 5,166 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 78,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,938,377.42. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 4,967 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $188,746.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,306,212. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 15,166 shares of company stock valued at $569,218 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AtriCure

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AtriCure by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,181,737 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $38,731,000 after acquiring an additional 14,577 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in AtriCure in the second quarter valued at about $284,000. Nicholas Company Inc. raised its holdings in AtriCure by 8.5% in the second quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 192,635 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $6,313,000 after purchasing an additional 15,135 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in AtriCure by 64.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 186,965 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $6,127,000 after purchasing an additional 73,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AtriCure by 79.2% during the third quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 60,322 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $2,126,000 after buying an additional 26,657 shares during 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.