Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Share Price Passes Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATRA. New Street Research set a $6.00 target price on Atara Biotherapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Atara Biotherapeutics has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Atara Biotherapeutics Trading Up 4.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $37.92 million, a PE ratio of 2.41 and a beta of -0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.72 and a 200 day moving average of $11.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atara Biotherapeutics

In related 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 transaction of $488,962.78. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATRA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Atara Biotherapeutics by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 148,632 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 32,836 shares during the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P grew its stake in Atara Biotherapeutics by 399.6% in the 4th quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 77,224 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 61,766 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Atara Biotherapeutics by 183.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 63,816 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 41,302 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.90% of the company’s stock.

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.