Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Stock Breaks Below 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Atara Biotherapeutics fell below its 200-day moving average: Shares traded as low as $7.46 and last stood at $7.70, below the $7.84 average.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.15 per share, missing analysts’ $0.13 loss estimate, while revenue of $1.22 million exceeded expectations of $0.80 million.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with a consensus price target of $9.50; ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell.

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $7.84 and traded as low as $7.46. Atara Biotherapeutics shares last traded at $7.70, with a volume of 17,041 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Atara Biotherapeutics Trading Down 2.9%

The company has a market cap of $78.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.62 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.84.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.80 million. Research analysts anticipate that Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atara Biotherapeutics

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

Institutional Trading of Atara Biotherapeutics

A hedge fund recently bought a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics stock. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 13,760 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $117,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.14% of Atara Biotherapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter. 70.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

Atara Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing allogeneic T-cell immunotherapies for cancer and other serious diseases. Founded in 2012 and based in Thousand Oaks, California, the company's approach uses immune cells from donors rather than cells collected from each individual patient. Its lead therapy, tabelecleucel, is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific T-cell treatment for EBV-positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, a rare complication that can occur after an organ or stem-cell transplant.

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