BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Buys 147,000 Shares of AtriCure, Inc. $ATRC

Key Points

• BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in AtriCure, Inc. by 24.5%, acquiring an additional 147,000 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.51%.
• AtriCure reported earnings of ($0.02) per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and experienced a 17.1% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Three research analysts recently upgraded AtriCure’s ratings, with the stock receiving a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $50.89.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC - Free Report) by 24.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 747,806 shares of the medical device company's stock after acquiring an additional 147,000 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned about 1.51% of AtriCure worth $24,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in AtriCure by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,647 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its stake in AtriCure by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,481 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in AtriCure by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,465 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in AtriCure by 98.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,593 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AtriCure Stock Up 0.1%

AtriCure stock opened at $35.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.04 and a beta of 1.61. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $32.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.98. AtriCure, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.27 and a 1-year high of $43.11. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Insider Activity at AtriCure

In related news, Director Regina E. Groves sold 2,452 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.82, for a total transaction of $90,282.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,241,386.30. This trade represents a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.58, for a total transaction of $91,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 71,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,629,077.76. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,452 shares of company stock valued at $265,333. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ATRC. UBS Group lowered their price objective on AtriCure from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AtriCure from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. BTIG Research set a $54.00 price target on AtriCure in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of AtriCure in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $50.89.

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.

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