** Shares of Atara Biotherapeutics ATRA.O up 7% premarket to $7.07 after co announces equity raise and business update

** Thousand Oaks, California-based firm announces pricing ~2.4 mln shares, including ~1.6 mln pre-funded warrants, at $6.61 for $16 mln gross proceeds

** Registered direct offering made to limited number of existing investors, including entities affiliated with Adiumentum Capital Management, EcoR1 Capital, Panacea Venture and Redmile Group, co says

** TD Cowen sole bookrunner

** Co says plans to use net proceeds to fund ongoing activities required to achieve biologics license application approval for tab-cel, and for working capital, general purposes

** Also, co posts Q1 rev of $98.1 mln, up from $27.4 mln a year ago, and net income of $38 mln vs loss of $31.8 mln last year

** It says it transferred all manufacturing responsibility to Pierre Fabre Laboratories, including all costs associated with manufacturing and supply of tabelecleucel for development and commercialization worldwide, and expects 65% reduction in operating expenses in 2025

** Co says U.S. FDA has lifted the clinical holds on EBVALLO studies, and it plans to resume enrollment in Phase III study for patients with Epstein-Barr virus-associated post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (EBV+ PTLD)

** In Jan, ATRA's shares plunged after FDA placed clinical hold on its cancer therapy trials and declined to approve tabelecleucel for treatment of Epstein-Barr

** Stock hit 52-week intraday high of $18.70 in early Jan

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))