Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) Short Interest Up 8.5% in August

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 410,500 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the August 15th total of 378,500 shares. Currently, 11.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 127,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATRA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho upgraded Atara Biotherapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $25.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atara Biotherapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $185.50.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ATRA traded down $1.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $8.60. The stock had a trading volume of 133,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,682. Atara Biotherapeutics has a 1-year low of $4.96 and a 1-year high of $49.00. The stock has a market cap of $42.23 million, a PE ratio of -0.17 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.90.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $28.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.30 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Atara Biotherapeutics will post -12.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ATRA. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics during the first quarter worth $29,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 86,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redmile Group LLC increased its stake 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 worth $6,429,000 after acquiring an additional 156,863 shares during the last quarter. 70.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

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.