AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) Short Interest Up 19.7% in March

AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 571,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ATRC. Oppenheimer increased their price target on AtriCure from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AtriCure in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of AtriCure in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AtriCure from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of AtriCure from $66.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. 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, AtriCure presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Karen Prange sold 6,100 shares of AtriCure stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 25.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AtriCure

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ATRC. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AtriCure during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $427,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AtriCure by 1.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in AtriCure by 38.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,053 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in AtriCure in the 3rd quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AtriCure during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $665,000. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AtriCure Price Performance

NASDAQ:ATRC opened at $33.36 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.12 and a beta of 1.53. AtriCure has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $43.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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.