Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Director Brian Cherry Buys 104,166 Shares

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) Director Brian Cherry bought 104,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.60 per share, for a total transaction of $999,993.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 166,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,265.60. This represents a 167.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ ATRA traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.76. 132,728 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 697,794. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.73. The stock has a market cap of $97.99 million, a P/E ratio of -8.27 and a beta of 0.10. Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $3.92 and a one year high of $19.15.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32). The company had revenue of $0.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.55 million. Atara Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 79.12% and a negative net margin of 269.42%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -0.22 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATRA. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Atara Biotherapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $181,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $327,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,779 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Atara Biotherapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Freedom Capital upgraded Atara Biotherapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. TD Cowen raised Atara Biotherapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Atara Biotherapeutics from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $13.00 price objective on Atara Biotherapeutics and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.