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

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) was the target of a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 519,500 shares, a decline of 18.4% from the October 31st total of 636,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 147,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 12.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Atara Biotherapeutics Price Performance

ATRA stock remained flat at $12.18 during trading on Friday. 31,906 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 106,269. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.13 million, a P/E ratio of -0.47 and a beta of 0.50. Atara Biotherapeutics has a 52-week low of $6.50 and a 52-week high of $39.50.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.93) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($3.77) by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($16.50) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Atara Biotherapeutics will post -12.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the second quarter worth $79,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Vestal Point Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 124,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 12,677 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 9.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 46,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Atara Biotherapeutics by 52.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 7,680 shares in the last quarter. 70.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Atara Biotherapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Atara Biotherapeutics from $13.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Mizuho raised Atara Biotherapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced 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, two have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.67.

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.