Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Stock Passes Above 50 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Atara Biotherapeutics stock crossed above its fifty-day moving average of $11.31, closing at $12.16, indicating positive trading momentum.
• The company reported a profit of $0.19 per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding expectations, with revenue also surpassing estimates at $17.58 million.
• Insider activity showed a major shareholder increased their stake by purchasing 55,000 shares at $12.19 each, raising confidence in the company’s future prospects.

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.31 and traded as high as $12.22. Atara Biotherapeutics shares last traded at $12.16, with a volume of 29,000 shares changing hands.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $85.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.28 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.60.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Innovation Ltd Panacea bought 55,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.19 per share, with a total value of $670,450.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 1,405,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,126,950. This represents a 4.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATRA. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $327,000. EcoR1 Capital LLC raised its position in Atara Biotherapeutics by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 573,183 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,405,000 after buying an additional 41,049 shares during the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,000. 70.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atara Biotherapeutics Company Profile

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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