Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Share Price Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Atara Biotherapeutics' share price dropped below its fifty-day moving average of $11.66, closing at $12.05 with a trading volume of 77,451 shares.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.19, exceeding analyst expectations of ($0.32) and showing revenue of $17.58 million, significantly higher than the anticipated $4.23 million.
• Insider activity is notable, with major shareholder Innovation Ltd Panacea acquiring 55,000 shares at an average price of $12.19, increasing their ownership stake by 4.07%.

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.66 and traded as low as $11.66. Atara Biotherapeutics shares last traded at $12.05, with a volume of 77,451 shares trading hands.

Atara Biotherapeutics Trading Down 1.1%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.86. The company has a market capitalization of $85.36 million, a PE ratio of -28.28 and a beta of 0.22.

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

Insider Transactions at Atara Biotherapeutics

In related news, major shareholder Innovation Ltd Panacea bought 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.19 per share, for a total transaction of $670,450.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,405,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,126,950. This represents a 4.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp purchased a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $149,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 205,170 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the period. EcoR1 Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 573,183 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,405,000 after purchasing an additional 41,049 shares during the period. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 60.0% during the 1st quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 80,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,136 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the period. 70.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.