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

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 330,524 shares, an increase of 57.9% from the February 12th total of 209,287 shares. Currently, 4.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 155,018 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 155,018 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 4.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Innovation Ltd Panacea sold 80,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.07, for a total transaction of $488,962.78. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,324,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,039,387.22. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atara Biotherapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATRA. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 20,321 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 3,779 shares during the last quarter. 70.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATRA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $6.00 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. New Street Research set a $6.00 price target on Atara Biotherapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $6.00.

Atara Biotherapeutics Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ATRA opened at $6.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.87 million, a P/E ratio of 2.98 and a beta of -0.44. Atara Biotherapeutics has a 12-month low of $3.92 and a 12-month high of $19.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.49.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel T-cell immunotherapies to transform the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease. Headquartered in South San Francisco, California, Atara leverages its proprietary off-the-shelf allogeneic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-directed T-cell platform to generate engineered cell therapies designed to target EBV-driven malignancies and immune-mediated disorders.

The company’s lead product candidate, tabelecleucel, is an off-the-shelf, EBV-specific T-cell therapy in clinical development for the treatment of EBV-positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) and other EBV-associated cancers.