Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Atara Biotherapeutics has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with one analyst issuing a sell rating and others assigning hold or buy ratings.
• Major shareholder Innovation Ltd Panacea increased its ownership by 4.07% after purchasing 55,000 shares at an average price of $12.19, totaling around $670,450.
• The company's recent earnings surpassed expectations, reporting a net revenue of $17.58 million compared to an estimate of $4.23 million, indicating potential growth prospects.

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.00.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research note on Saturday, September 27th.

Insider Transactions at Atara Biotherapeutics

In other Atara Biotherapeutics news, major shareholder Innovation Ltd Panacea bought 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.19 per share, with a total value of $670,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 1,405,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,126,950. This trade represents a 4.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Atara Biotherapeutics by 2.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,136 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 60.0% in the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 80,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Finally, EcoR1 Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 7.7% in the first quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 573,183 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,405,000 after purchasing an additional 41,049 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.90% of the company's stock.

Atara Biotherapeutics Price Performance

ATRA traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.41. 34,906 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,603. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.16 million, a PE ratio of -33.51 and a beta of 0.25. Atara Biotherapeutics has a 1-year low of $5.01 and a 1-year high of $18.70. The business's 50-day moving average price is $12.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.28.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.32) by $0.51. Atara Biotherapeutics had a net margin of 3.07% and a negative return on equity of 8.34%. The business had revenue of $17.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.23 million. As a group, analysts expect that Atara Biotherapeutics will post -10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc engages in the development of transformative therapies for patients with solid tumors, hematologic cancers, and autoimmune diseases in the United States and the United Kingdom. Its lead product includes Tab-cel (tabelecleucel), a T-cell immunotherapy program that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epstein-barr virus (EBV) driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, as well as nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

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