Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Atara Biotherapeutics to “Sell” from “Hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with a $9.50 price target.
• ATRA shares opened at $8.45, with a market capitalization of approximately $76.1 million and a trading range of $3.92 to $19.15 over the past year.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.29 per share, beating estimates, but revenue of $0.52 million fell well short of the $2.90 million consensus estimate; insiders own 41.2% of shares, while institutions own 70.9%.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Atara Biotherapeutics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $13.00 price objective on Atara Biotherapeutics and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Atara Biotherapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ATRA opened at $8.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $76.13 million, a PE ratio of -12.61 and a beta of 0.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.53 and a 200 day moving average of $7.15. Atara Biotherapeutics has a one year low of $3.92 and a one year high of $19.15.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.04. Atara Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 40.91% and a negative return on equity of 79.12%. The business had revenue of $0.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Atara Biotherapeutics will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atara Biotherapeutics

In related news, CEO Anhco Nguyen sold 5,241 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.13, for a total transaction of $47,850.33. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 137,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,258,451.81. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 41.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 2.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,136 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $327,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 203,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,915,000 after buying an additional 12,677 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 183.5% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 63,816 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $914,000 after acquiring an additional 41,302 shares during the last quarter. 70.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atara Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel T-cell immunotherapies to transform the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease. Headquartered in South San Francisco, California, Atara leverages its proprietary off-the-shelf allogeneic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-directed T-cell platform to generate engineered cell therapies designed to target EBV-driven malignancies and immune-mediated disorders.

The company's lead product candidate, tabelecleucel, is an off-the-shelf, EBV-specific T-cell therapy in clinical development for the treatment of EBV-positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) and other EBV-associated cancers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source