Short Interest in Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) Drops By 96.2%

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 431,000 shares, a drop of 96.2% from the May 31st total of 11,270,000 shares. Currently, 10.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 60,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.2 days.

Insider Activity at Atara Biotherapeutics

In other Atara Biotherapeutics news, CEO Pascal Touchon sold 3,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.50, for a total value of $50,530.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,057.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Atara Biotherapeutics news, EVP Anhco Nguyen sold 1,715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.50, for a total value of $26,582.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $557,054.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Pascal Touchon sold 3,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.50, for a total transaction of $50,530.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,134,057.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,120 shares of company stock worth $94,860. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATRA. Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC lifted its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the last quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 29.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Redmile Group LLC increased its position in Atara Biotherapeutics by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 9,263,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,429,000 after purchasing an additional 156,863 shares in the last quarter. 70.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ATRA stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $7.80. The company had a trading volume of 41,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 93,273. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.60 million, a P/E ratio of -0.15 and a beta of 0.54. Atara Biotherapeutics has a one year low of $4.96 and a one year high of $63.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.25.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($5.75) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($9.25) by $3.50. Atara Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 671.70% and a negative return on equity of 783.31%. The firm had revenue of $27.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.00 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atara Biotherapeutics will post -15.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATRA has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Atara Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd.

Atara Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc develops therapies for patients with solid tumors, hematologic cancers, and autoimmune diseases in the United States. 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.