Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Shares Cross Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA)’s share price crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.72 and traded as low as $4.68. Atara Biotherapeutics shares last traded at $5.26, with a volume of 510,858 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Atara Biotherapeutics Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.91. The company has a market capitalization of $39.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.49 and a beta of -0.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atara Biotherapeutics news, major shareholder Innovation Ltd Panacea sold 80,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.07, for a total value of $488,962.78. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,324,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,039,387.22. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Atara Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $181,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 3,779 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,213 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 6,622 shares in the last quarter. 70.90% of the stock is 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.