Allianz Asset Management GmbH Boosts Stake in AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC - Free Report) by 22.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,858 shares of the medical device company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,838 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.25% of AtriCure worth $3,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATRC. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in AtriCure by 1,184.1% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,618 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AtriCure during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. State of Wyoming boosted its position in AtriCure by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,481 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in AtriCure by 46.2% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,818 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AtriCure Trading Down 2.8%

NASDAQ:ATRC traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $34.11. 190,328 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 588,215. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.25 and a beta of 1.56. AtriCure, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.20 and a 52 week high of $43.11. The firm's 50 day moving average is $32.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.88, a current ratio of 4.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The medical device company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $136.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.17 million. AtriCure had a negative net margin of 7.27% and a negative return on equity of 4.21%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AtriCure, Inc. will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research set a $54.00 price target on AtriCure in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on AtriCure from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of AtriCure in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on AtriCure from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered AtriCure from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.89.

Insider Transactions at AtriCure

In related news, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.44, for a total transaction of $83,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 73,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,459,512. This represents a 3.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

AtriCure Company Profile

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.