AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Stock Moved Up to “Strong-Buy” by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AtriCure from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. UBS Group lowered shares of AtriCure from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on AtriCure from $52.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. BTIG Research increased their price objective on AtriCure from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of AtriCure in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AtriCure currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.30.

AtriCure Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of ATRC stock traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $56.84. 558,769 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 794,900. AtriCure has a 52-week low of $25.36 and a 52-week high of $66.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 189.47 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 4.33 and a quick ratio of 3.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.17.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical device company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.23. AtriCure had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 4.01%. The firm had revenue of $154.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.05 million. Equities analysts predict that AtriCure will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Salvatore Privitera sold 8,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $546,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 134,341 shares in the company, valued at $8,732,165. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.22, for a total transaction of $288,070.86. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,873,084.12. This represents a 13.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 39,026 shares of company stock worth $2,172,263 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AtriCure

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATRC. Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of AtriCure during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $684,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in AtriCure by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 768,561 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $21,927,000 after acquiring an additional 92,830 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in AtriCure in the 2nd quarter worth $1,002,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in AtriCure in the 2nd quarter worth $699,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in AtriCure during the second quarter worth $640,000. 99.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AtriCure Company Profile

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.