Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 639,200 shares, an increase of 21.4% from the September 30th total of 526,400 shares. Currently, 16.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 119,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ATRA. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Atara Biotherapeutics from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Atara Biotherapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $25.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 8,916.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,958,150 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,442,000 after acquiring an additional 4,903,159 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 49.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,638,687 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 873,133 shares during the last quarter. Redmile Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 9,263,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,429,000 after acquiring an additional 156,863 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Atara Biotherapeutics by 29.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 383,082 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 86,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delap Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 70.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

ATRA stock traded up $0.38 on Monday, hitting $8.98. 5,257 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 103,241. Atara Biotherapeutics has a 12-month low of $4.96 and a 12-month high of $39.50. The stock has a market cap of $43.26 million, a P/E ratio of -0.16 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.88.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($3.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.56) by ($1.54). The business had revenue of $28.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.30 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Atara Biotherapeutics will post -12.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atara Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc engages in the development of transformative therapies for patients with solid tumors, hematologic cancers, and autoimmune diseases in the United States and the United Kingdom. Its lead product includes Tab-cel (tabelecleucel), a T-cell immunotherapy program that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epstein-barr virus (EBV) driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, as well as nasopharyngeal carcinoma.