AtriCure Hits All-time High, What Next?

(RTTNews) - Shares of AtriCure Inc. (ATRC), an atrial fibrillation medical device provider, which touched an all-time high of $40.23 in intraday trading yesterday, have gained nearly 24% so far this month.

Atrial fibrillation, also called AFib or AF, is an irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure, and other heart-related complications. More than 33 million people worldwide are affected by AFib, and roughly 1.2 million Afib diagnoses are made annually in the U.S.

AtriCure markets Isolator Synergy Ablation System, the first and only medical device to score FDA approval for the treatment of persistent Afib. The Company also markets AtriClip device, the most widely used Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) device, with over 220,000 sold to date.

Driven by the demand for its products, the Company has had 29 straight quarters of double-digit revenue growth. The CAGR revenue growth in the last 5 years is more than 15%.

The Company is slated to release fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 financial results on Tuesday, February 18, 2020.

The preliminary, unaudited revenue for the fourth quarter of 2019 is expected to be approximately $61.3 million, reflecting growth of about 16% over the fourth quarter of 2018. Preliminary revenue for full-year 2019 is expected to be $230.8 million, reflecting an increase of about 14% over full-year 2018.

On an adjusted basis, the loss per share for 2018 was $0.94 compared to a loss of $0.96 in 2017.

For 2020, the Company expects revenue to be in the range of $254 million to $261 million, representing growth of approximately 10% to 13% over full-year 2019.

The Company has also been expanding its product portfolio, with an eye on minimally invasive therapies. For example, the cryoSPHERE Probe, the long-lasting pain management therapy, designed for use in thoracic surgical procedures was launched in early 2019.

Also in the pipeline are EPi-Sense device specifically for the treatment of persistent Afib through an abdominal approach and the LARIAT System, a percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) closure device, for the treatment of persistent or longstanding persistent Afib.

The Company expects EPi-Sense device to secure FDA approval by the end of 2020. The LARIAT device came under the fold of AtriCure when it acquired SentreHEART Inc. in August 2019. The LARIAT device is approved in the U.S. and Europe to deliver sutures for soft tissue closure.

A study evaluating Lariat device for the ligation, or closure, of the left atrial appendage (LAA) as an adjunctive treatment to Pulmonary Vein Isolation (PVI) in patients with persistent or longstanding persistent atrial fibrillation (AFib), dubbed aMAZE, is underway. The Company expects LARIAT device to be approved based on the aMAZE trial in 2022.

The Company ended September 30, 2019, with $100 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments.

Will AtriCure beat earnings and revenue estimates in Q4?

ATRC has traded in a range of $22.57 to $40.23 in the last 1 year.