AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Share Price Breaks Below Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• AtriCure shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $54.74 and last quoted at $56.26, down 2.6%.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $0.17 per share versus analysts’ forecast of a $0.06 loss, and revenue of $154.45 million versus $151.05 million expected.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with a $61.80 average price target; insiders sold 39,026 shares worth about $2.17 million over the past 90 days.

AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.15 and traded as low as $54.74. AtriCure shares last traded at $56.26, with a volume of 838,143 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ATRC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AtriCure from $36.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on AtriCure from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price objective on AtriCure in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $52.00 price objective on AtriCure in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered AtriCure from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AtriCure currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.80.

AtriCure Trading Down 2.6%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 187.54 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 4.33.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical device company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.23. The business had revenue of $154.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $151.05 million. AtriCure had a return on equity of 4.01% and a net margin of 2.52%. On average, research analysts expect that AtriCure, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AtriCure news, insider Salvatore Privitera sold 8,404 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $546,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 134,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,732,165. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Regina Groves sold 5,313 shares of AtriCure stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.22, for a total transaction of $288,070.86. Following the sale, the director owned 34,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,873,084.12. This represents a 13.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 39,026 shares of company stock valued at $2,172,263 over the last 90 days. 4.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AtriCure

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in AtriCure in the second quarter valued at approximately $125,198,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in AtriCure during the second quarter worth $24,465,000. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AtriCure during the second quarter worth $16,435,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AtriCure during the second quarter worth $14,028,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AtriCure during the second quarter worth $9,388,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.11% of the company's stock.

About AtriCure

AtriCure, Inc. is a medical technology company that develops and sells products for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and other conditions addressed through cardiac surgery. Its technologies are used by surgeons and other medical professionals in hospital settings. The company's products include surgical ablation systems designed to treat irregular heart rhythms and devices for managing the left atrial appendage, a small pouch in the heart associated with stroke risk in some patients with atrial fibrillation.

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