AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Moderate Buy consensus from 11 analysts (1 sell, 3 hold, 6 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 12-month price target of $48.43.
• AtriCure beat quarterly EPS expectations (reported $0.06 vs. est. -$0.04) with revenue of $140.5M, up 13.1% year-over-year, and sell-side analysts forecast ~0.1 EPS for the current year.
• Major funds including Vanguard and Wellington increased positions, and institutional investors now own 99.11% of AtriCure's shares.

Shares of AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.4286.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ATRC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AtriCure in a report on Monday, April 20th. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on AtriCure from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of AtriCure in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Oppenheimer cut AtriCure from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of AtriCure from $64.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Insider Activity at AtriCure

In other AtriCure news, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $149,150.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 96,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,781.25. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 4.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 322,818 shares during the period. First Light Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $46,501,000 after purchasing an additional 285,083 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AtriCure by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 952,089 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $37,665,000 after purchasing an additional 91,054 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of AtriCure by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 921,897 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $36,472,000 after purchasing an additional 71,341 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.11% of the company's stock.

AtriCure Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ATRC opened at $28.48 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $29.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -118.67 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.99, a current ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. AtriCure has a 52-week low of $27.06 and a 52-week high of $43.18.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $140.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.50 million. AtriCure had a negative return on equity of 1.15% and a negative net margin of 2.14%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.33) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AtriCure will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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