Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Stock Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Atara Biotherapeutics shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading at $8.93 versus the $8.96 average, while the 200-day average stood at $8.18.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive, with ratings ranging from Sell to Strong Buy and an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $9.50 average price target.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.32 per share, in line with estimates, and generated $0.63 million in revenue. Insider ownership is substantial at 41.2%, including a director’s purchase of nearly $1 million in shares.

Shares of Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.96 and traded as low as $8.93. Atara Biotherapeutics shares last traded at $8.93, with a volume of 27,264 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ATRA. 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 report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Atara Biotherapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $9.50.

Atara Biotherapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.96 and a 200 day moving average of $8.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.66 million, a P/E ratio of -7.57 and a beta of 0.10.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.32). Atara Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 79.12% and a negative net margin of 269.42%.The firm had revenue of $0.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.55 million. Equities analysts forecast that Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Anhco Nguyen sold 5,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.08, for a total transaction of $40,900.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,072,822. This represents a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Brian Cherry acquired 104,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 166,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,598,265.60. The trade was a 167.15% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 41.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Atara Biotherapeutics stock. Globeflex Capital L P increased its stake in Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA - Free Report) by 399.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,224 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 61,766 shares during the quarter. Globeflex Capital L P owned approximately 1.07% of Atara Biotherapeutics worth $1,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors own 70.90% of the company's stock.

Atara Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing allogeneic T-cell immunotherapies for cancer, autoimmune diseases and other serious conditions. Its platform uses T cells derived from healthy donors and engineered or selected to recognize disease-associated targets, with the goal of creating “off-the-shelf” treatments that can be administered without collecting and manufacturing a patient's own cells.

The company's leading product is tabelecleucel, marketed as Ebvallo, an allogeneic T-cell therapy designed to target Epstein-Barr virus-positive cells.

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