AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Freedom Capital

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ATRC. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of AtriCure from $64.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer cut AtriCure from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AtriCure in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of AtriCure in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AtriCure presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.43.

AtriCure Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:ATRC opened at $29.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -121.13 and a beta of 1.43. AtriCure has a 12-month low of $27.31 and a 12-month high of $43.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $32.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical device company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $140.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.50 million. AtriCure had a negative net margin of 2.14% and a negative return on equity of 1.15%. AtriCure’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.33) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AtriCure will post -0.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AtriCure

In related news, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $149,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 96,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,781.25. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AtriCure

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AtriCure by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,903,755 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $193,993,000 after purchasing an additional 62,861 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in AtriCure by 8.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,292,087 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $151,296,000 after buying an additional 322,818 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AtriCure by 2.1% in the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 3,061,059 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $100,311,000 after buying an additional 61,852 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in AtriCure by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,189,739 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $38,969,000 after buying an additional 3,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Light Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in AtriCure by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 1,175,445 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $46,501,000 after buying an additional 285,083 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.11% of the company’s stock.

AtriCure Company Profile

AtriCure, Inc is a medical device company focused on the development, manufacture and marketing of innovative therapies to treat atrial fibrillation (AF) and related conditions. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Mason, Ohio, AtriCure has established itself as a leader in surgical ablation devices designed to interrupt the errant electrical pathways that cause AF. The company’s solutions are used by cardiac surgeons and electrophysiologists to reduce the risk of stroke and improve patient outcomes in the treatment of both paroxysmal and persistent AF.

The company’s product portfolio centers on its Synergy Surgical Ablation System, which delivers controlled radiofrequency energy in a minimally invasive format, and the cryoICE Cryoablation System, which offers an alternative ablation modality using precise freezing techniques.