Short Interest in AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) Drops By 25.8%

AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,670,000 shares, a decline of 25.8% from the October 31st total of 2,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 567,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATRC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AtriCure from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded AtriCure from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on AtriCure from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted 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, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.11.

AtriCure Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of ATRC traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.16. 333,227 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 713,326. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.57 and a beta of 1.41. AtriCure has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $39.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $31.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.27. The company has a current ratio of 3.62, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AtriCure in the 2nd quarter worth $40,422,000. First Light Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in AtriCure by 42.1% in the second quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 1,964,703 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $44,736,000 after acquiring an additional 581,843 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in AtriCure by 132.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 952,765 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $21,694,000 after acquiring an additional 543,023 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in AtriCure by 151.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 229,130 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $6,425,000 after acquiring an additional 138,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in AtriCure by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 500,649 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $14,038,000 after purchasing an additional 119,929 shares during the period. 99.11% of the stock is currently 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.