Atara Biotherapeutics (ATRA) Received its Third Buy in a Row


After Mizuho Securities and Cowen & Co. gave Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: ATRA) a Buy rating last month, the company received another Buy, this time from William Blair. Analyst Matt Phipps reiterated a Buy rating on Atara Biotherapeutics yesterday. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $24.17, close to its 52-week low of $23.58.

Phipps noted:

“We continue to believe tab-cel has a high likelihood of clinical success and regulatory approval given the results reported to date and estimate peak sales of tab-cel in PTLD of roughly $500 million. Beyond tab-cel, we are encouraged by the initial safety data with AT A188 and look forward to efficacy data such as expanded disability status scale (EDSS) in the second half of this year , which could provide significant upside to the stock if consistent improvements are observed. Lastly , Atara’s in-licensed mesothelin Kettering continues to impress in mesothelioma as one of the few CAR-T therapies to show durable responses in solid tumor settings.”

According to TipRanks.com, Phipps is ranked #4604 out of 5190 analysts.

Currently, the analyst consensus on Atara Biotherapeutics is a Strong Buy with an average price target of $66, implying a 173.1% upside from current levels. In a report issued on May 9, Cowen & Co. also maintained a Buy rating on the stock.

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Based on Atara Biotherapeutics’ latest earnings release for the quarter ending March 31, the company reported a quarterly GAAP net loss of $66.26 million. In comparison, last year the company had a GAAP net loss of $41.44 million.

Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 78 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. Most recently, in March 2019, Joel Marcus, a Director at ATRA sold 62,590 shares for a total of $2,257,621.

TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. operates as a clinical stage company which focuses on developing novel therapeutics for serious unmet medical needs, with an initial focus on muscle wasting conditions and oncology. Its product candidates are biologics targeting myostatin and activin, members of the transforming growth factor-beta, protein superfamily, which play roles in the growth and maintenance of muscle and many other body tissues. The company was founded by Isaac E. Ciechanover on August 22, 2012 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, CA.

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