StockNews.com Lowers AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) to Sell

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ATRC. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of AtriCure from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of AtriCure from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on AtriCure from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on AtriCure from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BTIG Research cut their target price on AtriCure from $58.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.44.

AtriCure Stock Performance

Shares of AtriCure stock traded down $0.55 on Tuesday, hitting $25.60. 547,186 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 774,571. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 4.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of -32.00 and a beta of 1.44. AtriCure has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $47.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.55.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The medical device company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.17). AtriCure had a negative return on equity of 8.39% and a negative net margin of 9.33%. The company had revenue of $116.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. AtriCure’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AtriCure will post -0.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AtriCure

In other news, insider Salvatore Privitera acquired 5,000 shares of AtriCure stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.25 per share, with a total value of $111,250.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 103,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,298,202.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Maggie Yuen sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.07, for a total value of $84,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,907.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Salvatore Privitera acquired 5,000 shares of AtriCure stock in a transaction 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 completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 103,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,202.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AtriCure

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in AtriCure by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,524 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in AtriCure by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 13,400 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in AtriCure by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 257,901 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $9,204,000 after purchasing an additional 30,280 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in AtriCure by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 68,188 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 16,168 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in AtriCure by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.11% of the company’s stock.

About AtriCure

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.