Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Stock Passes Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Atara Biotherapeutics shares moved above their 50-day moving average of $8.98, reaching $10.00 before closing at $9.38. The company has a market capitalization of approximately $94.2 million.
• Analyst sentiment improved, with recent upgrades including a “strong-buy” rating from TD Cowen; the stock carries an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $9.50.
• Director Brian N. Cherry purchased nearly $1 million in shares, while the CEO sold shares to cover tax withholding. Insiders own 41.2% of the company, and institutional investors own 70.9%.

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA - Get Free Report) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.98 and traded as high as $10.00. Atara Biotherapeutics shares last traded at $9.38, with a volume of 16,024 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATRA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Atara Biotherapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of Atara Biotherapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Freedom Capital raised Atara Biotherapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded 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 given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $9.50.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $8.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.94. The stock has a market cap of $94.18 million, a PE ratio of -7.95 and a beta of 0.10.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Atara Biotherapeutics

In other Atara Biotherapeutics news, Director Brian N. Cherry bought 104,166 shares of Atara Biotherapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.60 per share, for a total transaction of $999,993.60. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Anhco Nguyen sold 5,062 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,072,822. This trade represents 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 20,321 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 3,779 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 133.5% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 32,691 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 18,691 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 148,632 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 32,836 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Atara Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Atara Biotherapeutics by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 30,040 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 11,104 shares during the last quarter. 70.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel T-cell immunotherapies to transform the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease. Headquartered in South San Francisco, California, Atara leverages its proprietary off-the-shelf allogeneic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-directed T-cell platform to generate engineered cell therapies designed to target EBV-driven malignancies and immune-mediated disorders.

The company's lead product candidate, tabelecleucel, is an off-the-shelf, EBV-specific T-cell therapy in clinical development for the treatment of EBV-positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) and other EBV-associated cancers.

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