Knott David M Jr Buys Shares of 24,620 AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC)

Key Points

• David M. Knott Jr. has made a new investment in AtriCure, Inc., purchasing 24,620 shares valued at approximately $794,000, highlighting increasing institutional interest in the company.
• AtriCure reported a revenue increase of 17.1% year-over-year, totaling $136.14 million, and posted adjusted earnings per share of (-$0.02), exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Research firms have raised their price targets for AtriCure, with the consensus target now at $50.89, reflecting positive analyst sentiment toward the stock.

Knott David M Jr acquired a new position in shares of AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 24,620 shares of the medical device company's stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATRC. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in AtriCure during the first quarter worth $30,666,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in AtriCure in the 1st quarter valued at $225,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AtriCure by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 52,162 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 8,515 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in AtriCure by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 223,569 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $7,212,000 after acquiring an additional 41,847 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in AtriCure by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 19,447 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 3,309 shares during the period. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AtriCure Stock Performance

ATRC stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.63. 160,232 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 588,406. AtriCure, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.27 and a 52 week high of $43.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of -46.25 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.13.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on ATRC shares. Wall Street Zen raised AtriCure from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on AtriCure from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BTIG Research set a $54.00 price target on AtriCure in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on 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 issued a $60.00 target price on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AtriCure news, Director Regina E. Groves sold 2,452 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.82, for a total transaction of $90,282.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,241,386.30. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.58, for a total value of $91,450.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 71,872 shares in the company, valued at $2,629,077.76. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,452 shares of company stock worth $265,333 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

AtriCure 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.