Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) Short Interest Up 500.8% in January

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,016,616 shares, a growth of 500.8% from the December 31st total of 169,201 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,101,087 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days. Currently, 14.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 14.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,101,087 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Insider Transactions at Atara Biotherapeutics

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 183.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 63,816 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $914,000 after buying an additional 41,302 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Atara Biotherapeutics by 6.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 203,438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 12,677 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $327,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,136 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.90% of the company’s stock.

Atara Biotherapeutics Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of ATRA stock opened at $5.51 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.85. The company has a market capitalization of $39.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.53 and a beta of -0.41. Atara Biotherapeutics has a 1-year low of $4.20 and a 1-year high of $19.15.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.