Needham & Company LLC Boosts AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Price Target to $45.00

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC raised AtriCure's price target from $44.00 to $45.00, indicating a potential upside of 41.82% from its current price.
• AtriCure reported a 17.1% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, totaling $136.14 million, while also beating earnings estimates.
• Despite a negative return on equity of -5.68%, analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" average rating for the company's stock.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by Needham & Company LLC from $44.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the medical device company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective indicates a potential upside of 30.78% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ATRC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AtriCure from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of AtriCure from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of AtriCure in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $50.89.

AtriCure Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of ATRC stock traded down $0.69 on Wednesday, reaching $34.41. 730,309 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 607,416. The company has a quick ratio of 2.88, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.69 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.32. AtriCure has a 1-year low of $20.20 and a 1-year high of $43.11.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The medical device company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $136.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.17 million. AtriCure had a negative return on equity of 4.20% and a negative net margin of 7.27%. The firm's revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that AtriCure will post -0.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AtriCure

In related news, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.44, for a total value of $83,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AtriCure

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of AtriCure by 170.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,196,914 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $70,872,000 after buying an additional 1,385,544 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in AtriCure during the 1st quarter valued at $30,666,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in AtriCure during the 1st quarter worth $19,139,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in AtriCure during the 4th quarter worth $9,168,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AtriCure in the 1st quarter valued at about $9,536,000. 99.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.