Short Interest in Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) Expands By 21.4%

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) was the recipient of a significant 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 trading volume of 119,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ATRA. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $79,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 8,916.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,958,150 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 4,903,159 shares in the last quarter. Redmile Group LLC lifted its position in Atara Biotherapeutics by 1.7% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 873,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.90% of the company’s stock.

Atara Biotherapeutics Price Performance

Shares of ATRA stock opened at $8.87 on Wednesday. Atara Biotherapeutics has a 12-month low of $4.96 and a 12-month high of $39.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.17 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.76.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($3.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.56) by ($1.54). The firm had revenue of $28.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.30 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atara Biotherapeutics will post -12.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

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.