Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) Short Interest Down 72.2% in January

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 282,525 shares, a decline of 72.2% from the January 15th total of 1,016,616 shares. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 351,029 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 351,029 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ATRA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (down previously from $25.00) on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, New Street Research set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $6.00.

Atara Biotherapeutics Price Performance

Shares of ATRA stock opened at $4.59 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $11.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.49. The firm has a market cap of $33.09 million, a P/E ratio of 2.11 and a beta of -0.43. Atara Biotherapeutics has a 1-year low of $4.20 and a 1-year high of $19.15.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.51. The business had revenue of $3.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 million. Atara Biotherapeutics had a net margin of 15.40% and a negative return on equity of 41.78%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atara Biotherapeutics will post -10.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Atara Biotherapeutics

In other news, CEO Anhco Nguyen sold 2,915 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.19, for a total value of $38,448.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $857,007.06. This represents a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Innovation Ltd Panacea sold 80,554 shares of Atara Biotherapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.07, for a total transaction of $488,962.78. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,324,446 shares in the company, valued at $8,039,387.22. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 87,077 shares of company stock valued at $575,001. 4.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Globeflex Capital L P lifted its stake in Atara Biotherapeutics by 399.6% during the fourth quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 77,224 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 61,766 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Atara Biotherapeutics during the second quarter valued at $327,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 183.5% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 63,816 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 41,302 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 203,438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,915,000 after buying an additional 12,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted 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 buying an additional 6,622 shares during the period. 70.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.