Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Share Price Breaks Below Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Atara Biotherapeutics shares fell below their 50-day moving average of $9.12, reaching $8.82 before last trading at $9.23. The stock’s 200-day moving average is $8.45.
• Analyst views improved, including TD Cowen upgrading the stock to “strong buy”; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $9.50.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.32 per share, in line with estimates, while revenue of $0.63 million exceeded expectations. Insider activity was mixed, with a director purchasing nearly $1 million in shares and the CEO selling shares to cover tax obligations.

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.12 and traded as low as $8.82. Atara Biotherapeutics shares last traded at $9.23, with a volume of 28,942 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Atara Biotherapeutics from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Atara Biotherapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Atara Biotherapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $9.50.

Atara Biotherapeutics Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.45. The company has a market capitalization of $92.67 million, a P/E ratio of -7.82 and a beta of 0.21.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.32). The company had revenue of $0.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.55 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Anhco Nguyen sold 5,062 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.08, for a total value of $40,900.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,072,822. The trade was a 3.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Brian Cherry bought 104,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.60 per share, with a total value of $999,993.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 166,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,598,265.60. This trade represents a 167.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 41.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing T-cell immunotherapies for cancer and serious diseases associated with viral infections. The company's approach uses allogeneic, or donor-derived, T cells that are selected or engineered to recognize disease-related targets, with the goal of providing off-the-shelf treatment options.

Atara's lead product, Ebvallo (tabelecleucel), is an allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy designed to treat Epstein-Barr virus-positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (EBV+ PTLD) in certain patients who have received a solid-organ or hematopoietic-cell transplant.

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