Zacks: Analysts Expect Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) to Announce -$0.91 Earnings Per Share

Equities research analysts forecast that Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA – Get Rating) will post earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.91) for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Three analysts have provided estimates for Atara Biotherapeutics’ earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is ($0.97) and the highest is ($0.79). Atara Biotherapeutics also posted earnings per share of ($0.91) in the same quarter last year. The company is scheduled to report its next quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 1st.

On average, analysts expect that Atara Biotherapeutics will report full-year earnings of ($3.45) per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from ($3.78) to ($2.96). For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the business will post earnings of ($3.08) per share, with EPS estimates ranging from ($4.08) to ($2.51). Zacks’ earnings per share calculations are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that follow Atara Biotherapeutics.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.87) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by $0.11. Atara Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 1,451.79% and a negative return on equity of 122.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.86) earnings per share.

ATRA has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright lowered their price target on Atara Biotherapeutics from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 23rd. StockNews.com cut Atara Biotherapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Atara Biotherapeutics from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Atara Biotherapeutics from $27.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Atara Biotherapeutics from $78.00 to $67.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atara Biotherapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.88.

In related news, CEO Pascal Touchon sold 13,913 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.32, for a total value of $74,017.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 486,313 shares in the company, valued at $2,587,185.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Utpal Koppikar sold 5,582 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.32, for a total transaction of $29,696.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 207,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,389.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,591 shares of company stock worth $141,464. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATRA. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Atara Biotherapeutics during the first quarter worth about $284,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 326.1% in the third quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 3,311 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,534 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $488,000. Natixis bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,286,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,230,000.

Shares of NASDAQ ATRA traded up $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.88. The company had a trading volume of 812,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,026,489. The stock has a market capitalization of $549.23 million, a PE ratio of -1.62 and a beta of 1.94. Atara Biotherapeutics has a twelve month low of $4.61 and a twelve month high of $20.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.53.

Atara Biotherapeutics Company Profile (Get Rating)

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc, an off-the-shelf T-cell immunotherapy company, develops treatments for patients with cancer, autoimmune, and viral diseases in the United States. It is developing tabelecleucel, a T-cell immunotherapy that is Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epstein-barr virus (EBV) driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, as well as hematologic and solid tumors, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

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