Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Trading Down 1.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Atara Biotherapeutics' shares have declined by 1.6%, trading at around $15.79 after previously closing at $16.04.
• Wall Street analysts have given the stock a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $21.00, despite Weiss Ratings issuing a "sell (d+)" rating.
• Institutional investors hold a significant stake of 70.90% in Atara Biotherapeutics, signaling strong interest from large investment firms.

Shares of Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) were down 1.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $15.02 and last traded at $15.79. Approximately 55,595 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 64,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atara Biotherapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Down 1.6%

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.03. The company has a market cap of $110.85 million, a P/E ratio of -36.72 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Innovation Ltd Panacea purchased 55,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.19 per share, with a total value of $670,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,405,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,126,950. The trade was a 4.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EcoR1 Capital LLC increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Atara Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $327,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Atara Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.90% of the company's stock.

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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