AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,700,000 shares, a growth of 19.7% from the February 28th total of 1,420,000 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 571,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Karen Prange sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $232,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,828 shares in the company, valued at $679,603.36. This trade represents a 25.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AtriCure in the third quarter valued at approximately $427,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in AtriCure by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 394,584 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $11,064,000 after acquiring an additional 5,812 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of AtriCure by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,053 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of AtriCure during the third quarter worth $230,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AtriCure in the third quarter valued at $665,000. 99.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of AtriCure from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on AtriCure from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of AtriCure in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on AtriCure from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on AtriCure from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.44.

AtriCure Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ATRC opened at $34.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 3.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.93 and a beta of 1.53. AtriCure has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $43.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.10.

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.