AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Trading 2.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) shares rose 2.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $33.68 and last traded at $33.57. Approximately 60,140 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 407,057 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ATRC shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AtriCure from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on AtriCure from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on AtriCure from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AtriCure from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AtriCure presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

AtriCure Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 3.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.98 and a beta of 1.42.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical device company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $115.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.23 million. AtriCure had a negative net margin of 8.70% and a negative return on equity of 8.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.20) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AtriCure, Inc. will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AtriCure

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATRC. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in AtriCure by 0.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 56,843 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in AtriCure by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,542 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in AtriCure by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 21,441 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in shares of AtriCure in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of AtriCure by 6.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 24,919 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.