Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) CEO Anhco Nguyen Sells 5,062 Shares

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) CEO Anhco Nguyen sold 5,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.08, for a total value of $40,900.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,072,822. This trade represents a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:ATRA traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.38. 63,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 50,209. The company has a market cap of $94.18 million, a P/E ratio of -7.95 and a beta of 0.12. Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $3.92 and a one year high of $19.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.54.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32). The business had revenue of $0.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.55 million. Atara Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 79.12% and a negative net margin of 269.42%. Analysts anticipate that Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $181,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 20,321 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 3,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 30,040 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 11,104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Atara Biotherapeutics from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $13.00 target price on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Atara Biotherapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. 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, Wall Street Zen upgraded Atara Biotherapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atara Biotherapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

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.