AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $29.43, but opened at $34.40. AtriCure shares last traded at $35.29, with a volume of 635,654 shares trading hands.

The medical device company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $115.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.23 million. AtriCure had a negative net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 8.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.20) EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AtriCure from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. 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 note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at AtriCure

In other AtriCure 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 8,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $215,907.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of AtriCure by 4.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,542 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in AtriCure by 8.5% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,371 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in AtriCure by 4.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 21,441 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new position in AtriCure in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Comerica Bank increased 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 valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AtriCure Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 4.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.50 and a beta of 1.44. The business's 50 day moving average is $27.46 and its 200-day moving average is $24.30.

AtriCure Company Profile

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.