Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) Short Interest Up 31.6% in March

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,920,000 shares, an increase of 31.6% from the February 28th total of 5,260,000 shares. Currently, 8.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Atyr PHARMA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Atyr PHARMA in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $18.60.

Atyr PHARMA Stock Down 3.5 %

Atyr PHARMA stock opened at $3.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $268.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.21 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 5.41, a quick ratio of 5.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Atyr PHARMA has a 12 month low of $1.42 and a 12 month high of $4.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.21.

Atyr PHARMA (NASDAQ:ATYR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.05. Equities analysts predict that Atyr PHARMA will post -0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in Atyr PHARMA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Alterna Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atyr PHARMA in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atyr PHARMA in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Atyr PHARMA during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Atyr PHARMA during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Atyr PHARMA

aTyr Pharma, Inc engages in the discovery and development of medicines based on novel biological pathways. Its product pipeline includes ATYR1923, ATYR2810, NRP2 mAbs, and AARS-1, DARS-1. The company was founded by Paul Schimmel, Xiang-Lei Yang and Bruce Beutler on September 8, 2005 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.