AtriCure price target lowered to $49 from $57 at Canaccord

Canaccord lowered the firm’s price target on AtriCure (ATRC) to $49 from $57 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said while management said it felt some pressure from Medtronics (MDT) competitive product launch, this is NOT the reason for the miss in the quarter. A tough comp for the MIS segment of AtriClip that does not compete directly with MDT and for LARIAT, ultimately drove the miss, while the open clip business which Medtronic is competing in, grew 15% which should begin to alleviate investor concerns about the impact of competitive trialing.