Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) Stock Price Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) shares crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.72 and traded as low as $4.68. Atara Biotherapeutics shares last traded at $5.26, with a volume of 510,858 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on ATRA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. New Street Research set a $6.00 price target on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Atara Biotherapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $37.92 million, a PE ratio of 2.41 and a beta of -0.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $8.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atara Biotherapeutics news, major shareholder Innovation Ltd Panacea sold 80,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.07, for a total transaction of $488,962.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,324,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,039,387.22. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 20,321 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,779 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 133.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 32,691 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 18,691 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 148,632 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,689,000 after buying an additional 32,836 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 30,040 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 11,104 shares during the period. 70.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.