Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, an increase of 98.3% from the September 15th total of 685,800 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 443,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ATYR. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company.

Atyr PHARMA Trading Up 5.2 %

ATYR traded up $0.11 on Friday, reaching $2.23. The stock had a trading volume of 781,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,481. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1.86. The company has a current ratio of 7.63, a quick ratio of 7.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Atyr PHARMA has a 12-month low of $1.08 and a 12-month high of $2.50. The company has a market cap of $169.03 million, a P/E ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 1.21.

Atyr PHARMA (NASDAQ:ATYR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.01. As a group, analysts predict that Atyr PHARMA will post -0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul Schimmel purchased 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1.93 per share, with a total value of $100,939.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 413,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,134.39. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Atyr PHARMA Company Profile

aTyr Pharma, Inc, a biotherapeutics company, engages in the discovery and development of medicines based on novel immunological pathways in the United States. Its lead therapeutic candidate is efzofitimod, a selective modulator of NRP2 that is in Phase III clinical trial for pulmonary sarcoidosis; and in Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for treatment of other interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), such as chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis and connective tissue disease related ILD.