Short Interest in AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) Declines By 31.6%

AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,250,000 shares, a decline of 31.6% from the October 15th total of 3,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 586,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AtriCure

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in AtriCure in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in AtriCure by 70.5% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,522 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AtriCure by 38.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,868 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,626 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 733.3% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AtriCure by 32.1% during the second quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,743 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,368 shares in the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AtriCure Price Performance

Shares of ATRC stock traded down $0.67 on Thursday, reaching $35.53. 306,924 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 725,892. AtriCure has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $43.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a current ratio of 3.62. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.77 and a beta of 1.41.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.12% and a negative net margin of 8.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.20) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AtriCure will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of AtriCure from $58.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AtriCure from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AtriCure from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AtriCure from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AtriCure has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.11.

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.