Short Interest in Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) Rises By 29.0%

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 706,500 shares, an increase of 29.0% from the January 15th total of 547,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 214,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 18.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atara Biotherapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 9.5% during the 3rd 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. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,061 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 7,381 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics by 52.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 7,680 shares during the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 50,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp bought a new stake in shares of Atara Biotherapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.90% of the company’s stock.

Atara Biotherapeutics Price Performance

ATRA opened at $8.59 on Friday. Atara Biotherapeutics has a 1 year low of $5.40 and a 1 year high of $23.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.79.

Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.93) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.77) by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($16.50) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atara Biotherapeutics will post -10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ATRA shares. TD Cowen upgraded Atara Biotherapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Rodman & Renshaw began coverage on shares of Atara Biotherapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. RODMAN&RENSHAW lowered shares of Atara Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Atara Biotherapeutics from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.75.

Atara Biotherapeutics Company Profile

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.