AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyWall Street Zen downgraded shares of AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC – Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.
A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ATRC. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of AtriCure from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on AtriCure from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut AtriCure from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of AtriCure in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered AtriCure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AtriCure has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.43.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AtriCure
AtriCure Stock Performance
Shares of ATRC opened at $28.26 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.99, a current ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of -117.75 and a beta of 1.42. AtriCure has a 52-week low of $28.16 and a 52-week high of $43.18.
AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical device company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $140.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.33) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that AtriCure will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling at AtriCure
In other news, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 96,875 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,781.25. This represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of AtriCure
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in AtriCure by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,941 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position 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. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of AtriCure by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 8,805 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 495 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.