Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,979 shares of the medical device company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATRC. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in AtriCure during the fourth quarter worth approximately $103,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in AtriCure by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its holdings in AtriCure by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 7,136 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AtriCure by 223.0% during the fourth quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AtriCure by 20.7% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,877 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.11% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.39, for a total value of $45,585.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 72,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,211,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other AtriCure news, insider Salvatore Privitera bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.25 per share, for a total transaction of $111,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 103,290 shares in the company, valued at $2,298,202.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Justin J. Noznesky sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.39, for a total value of $45,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 72,784 shares in the company, valued at $2,211,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded AtriCure from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on AtriCure from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer upgraded AtriCure from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on AtriCure from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on AtriCure from $42.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AtriCure currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.78.

AtriCure Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of ATRC opened at $22.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 4.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.38. AtriCure, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $59.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.67 and a beta of 1.42.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The medical device company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.02). AtriCure had a negative return on equity of 7.85% and a negative net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $108.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AtriCure, Inc. will post -0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.