Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32), FiscalAI reports. Atara Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 40.91% and a negative return on equity of 79.12%. The firm had revenue of $0.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.55 million.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ATRA opened at $9.23 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.78 and a beta of 0.12. Atara Biotherapeutics has a 52-week low of $3.92 and a 52-week high of $19.15.

Insider Activity at Atara Biotherapeutics

In other news, CEO Anhco Nguyen sold 5,241 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.13, for a total value of $47,850.33. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 137,837 shares in the company, valued at $1,258,451.81. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 41.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atara Biotherapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,136 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,779 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $181,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 30,040 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 11,104 shares during the last quarter. 70.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATRA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Atara Biotherapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atara Biotherapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Atara Biotherapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $13.00 price target on Atara Biotherapeutics and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

Atara Biotherapeutics Company Profile

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.