Marshall Wace LLP Has $18.92 Million Stake in AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC)

Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) by 37.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 619,166 shares of the medical device company’s stock after acquiring an additional 167,476 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 1.27% of AtriCure worth $18,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in AtriCure by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,344,856 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $37,710,000 after purchasing an additional 63,002 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AtriCure by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,152,628 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $32,326,000 after buying an additional 32,676 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of AtriCure by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 56,843 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of AtriCure by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,751 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in AtriCure by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,360 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of AtriCure in a report on Monday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on AtriCure from $66.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on AtriCure from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of AtriCure in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of AtriCure from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AtriCure 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 transaction, the director now owns 17,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $679,603.36. This trade represents a 25.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AtriCure Price Performance

ATRC opened at $32.01 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.69 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.65 and a quick ratio of 2.62. AtriCure, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $43.11.

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.