Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.32), FiscalAI reports. Atara Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 40.91% and a negative return on equity of 79.12%. The business had revenue of $0.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.55 million.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of ATRA opened at $9.23 on Thursday. Atara Biotherapeutics has a 52-week low of $3.92 and a 52-week high of $19.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.26. The company has a market capitalization of $83.16 million, a PE ratio of -13.78 and a beta of 0.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATRA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Atara Biotherapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut Atara Biotherapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $13.00 target price on Atara Biotherapeutics and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Atara Biotherapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atara Biotherapeutics news, CEO Anhco Nguyen sold 5,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.13, for a total transaction of $47,850.33. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 137,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,258,451.81. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 41.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ATRA. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 133.5% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 32,691 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 18,691 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Atara Biotherapeutics by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 148,632 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,689,000 after acquiring an additional 32,836 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Atara Biotherapeutics by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 30,040 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 11,104 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 41,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 203,438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after acquiring an additional 12,677 shares in the last quarter. 70.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.