Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Trading Down 21.6% – Here’s Why

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA)’s share price dropped 21.6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $13.08 and last traded at $13.67. Approximately 839,300 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 684% from the average daily volume of 106,988 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ATRA. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $25.00 price target on Atara Biotherapeutics and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atara Biotherapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.00.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.18. The stock has a market cap of $98.56 million, a PE ratio of 6.27 and a beta of -0.41.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.51. Atara Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 15.40%.The company had revenue of $3.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 million. Analysts forecast that Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -10.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Atara Biotherapeutics

In other news, CEO Anhco Nguyen sold 2,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.19, for a total transaction of $38,448.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $857,007.06. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,523 shares of company stock valued at $86,038. 4.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Atara Biotherapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the second quarter worth about $327,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,213 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 6,622 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Atara Biotherapeutics by 183.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 63,816 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 41,302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.90% of the company’s stock.

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.