Short Interest in Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) Drops By 21.3%

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, a drop of 21.3% from the September 30th total of 1,360,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 684,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Atyr PHARMA Price Performance

ATYR traded up $0.05 during trading on Monday, reaching $3.30. The company had a trading volume of 73,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 547,019. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.74 million, a P/E ratio of -3.61 and a beta of 1.21. Atyr PHARMA has a 12 month low of $1.08 and a 12 month high of $3.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 7.63 and a current ratio of 7.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $2.08.

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

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.