AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• AtriCure, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from nine brokerages, with an average 12-month price target set at $50.67.
• Recent insider activity includes a sale of 2,500 shares by Vinayak Doraiswamy at an average price of $33.44, representing a 3.29% decrease in their ownership.
• Institutional investors hold 99.11% of AtriCure's stock, with notable increases in holdings from various hedge funds, highlighting strong institutional interest.

AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the nine research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.67.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATRC. UBS Group lowered their price target on AtriCure from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AtriCure from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on AtriCure from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 2,500 shares of AtriCure stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.44, for a total transaction of $83,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,459,512. The trade was a 3.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AtriCure

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATRC. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AtriCure by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,647 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $1,334,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of AtriCure by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,481 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in AtriCure by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,465 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 98.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,593 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of AtriCure by 135.3% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,447 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.11% of the company's stock.

AtriCure Price Performance

ATRC traded up $1.72 during trading on Monday, reaching $33.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,339,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,052. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of -41.01 and a beta of 1.56. AtriCure has a one year low of $20.20 and a one year high of $43.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.28 and a 200-day moving average of $34.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.88 and a current ratio of 4.11.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical device company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.11. AtriCure had a negative net margin of 7.95% and a negative return on equity of 5.68%. The business had revenue of $123.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $122.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.28) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AtriCure will post -0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AtriCure

AtriCure, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells devices for surgical ablation of cardiac tissue, exclusion of the left atrial appendage, and temporarily blocking pain by ablating peripheral nerves to medical centers in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company offers Isolator Synergy Clamps, single-use disposable radio frequency products; multifunctional pens and linear ablation devices, such as the MAX Pen device that enables surgeons to evaluate cardiac arrhythmias, perform temporary cardiac pacing, sensing, and stimulation, and ablate cardiac tissue with the same device; and the Coolrail device, which enables users to make longer linear lines of ablation.