AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Upgraded to “Outperform” by Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer upgraded shares of AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $32.00 price objective on the medical device company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on ATRC. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on AtriCure from $50.00 to $42.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AtriCure from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $52.63.

AtriCure Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ATRC opened at $23.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.11 and a beta of 1.38. AtriCure has a 12-month low of $22.27 and a 12-month high of $59.61. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical device company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.01. AtriCure had a negative return on equity of 7.55% and a negative net margin of 7.62%. The business had revenue of $106.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that AtriCure will post -0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AtriCure

In other news, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 1,500 shares of AtriCure stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $55,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,727,708.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Karl S. Dahlquist sold 1,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $60,621.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,680.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $55,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,727,708.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,116 shares of company stock worth $468,797 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AtriCure

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AtriCure during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in shares of AtriCure during the third quarter worth $28,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of AtriCure by 31.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,074 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AtriCure by 175.6% in the 3rd quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,825 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in AtriCure during the 4th quarter valued at about $103,000. 99.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.