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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atara Biotherapeutics news, EVP Anhco Nguyen sold 1,715 shares of the business’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 $26,582.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,939 shares in the company, valued at $557,054.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Atara Biotherapeutics news, CEO Pascal Touchon sold 3,260 shares of Atara Biotherapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.50, for a total transaction of $50,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,057.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anhco Nguyen sold 1,715 shares of Atara Biotherapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 35,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $557,054.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have 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

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATRA. Redmile Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 8,916.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,958,150 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 4,903,159 shares in the last quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 49.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Atara Biotherapeutics by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 383,082 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 86,842 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 equities research analysts have weighed in on ATRA shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Atara Biotherapeutics Trading Up 6.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ ATRA traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $7.80. 41,427 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 93,273. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.25. The company 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 52-week low of $4.96 and a 52-week high of $63.38.

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

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.