AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $40.00 price target on the medical device company’s stock.

ATRC has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of AtriCure from $42.00 to $34.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded AtriCure from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of AtriCure from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $49.78.

AtriCure Trading Up 5.4 %

Shares of ATRC stock opened at $23.39 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.21. AtriCure has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $59.61. The company has a current ratio of 4.00, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.24 and a beta of 1.44.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The medical device company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $108.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.86 million. AtriCure had a negative net margin of 8.98% and a negative return on equity of 7.85%. AtriCure’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that AtriCure will post -0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AtriCure

In other news, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total value of $36,135.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,717,231.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total value of $36,135.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,717,231.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Salvatore Privitera acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.25 per share, for a total transaction of $111,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 103,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,202.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AtriCure

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in AtriCure by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,681,000 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $81,556,000 after purchasing an additional 575,605 shares during the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new position in AtriCure during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,126,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AtriCure during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,254,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of AtriCure by 38.6% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 720,677 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $21,923,000 after acquiring an additional 200,799 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 881,826 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $31,472,000 after buying an additional 193,769 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.11% 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.