Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

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

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ATRA traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.23. 88,981 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 769,620. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.16 million, a P/E ratio of -13.78 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.23. Atara Biotherapeutics has a twelve month low of $3.92 and a twelve month high of $19.15.

Insider Activity at Atara Biotherapeutics

In other news, CEO Anhco Nguyen sold 5,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 41.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $181,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 22.8% in 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. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 58.6% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Freedom Capital upgraded Atara Biotherapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $13.00 price target on Atara Biotherapeutics and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Atara Biotherapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atara Biotherapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.