AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ATRC. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AtriCure in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer cut AtriCure from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on AtriCure from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut AtriCure from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut AtriCure from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.71.

AtriCure Price Performance

ATRC stock opened at $27.10 on Thursday. AtriCure has a 52-week low of $25.36 and a 52-week high of $43.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.27. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -271.00 and a beta of 1.26.

Insider Transactions at AtriCure

In other AtriCure news, Director Karen Prange sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.65, for a total transaction of $85,950.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,373 shares in the company, valued at $755,586.45. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 5,000 shares of AtriCure stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $149,150.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 96,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,781.25. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AtriCure

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in AtriCure by 6.5% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,188 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 1.2% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 37,677 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 8,805 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 197.1% during the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 811 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AtriCure

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.