StockNews.com Begins Coverage on aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:LIFE)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:LIFE) in a research report report published on Friday. The firm issued a sell rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LIFE. HC Wainwright reissued a buy rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of aTyr Pharma in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on aTyr Pharma from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, aTyr Pharma has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $23.67.

aTyr Pharma Stock Performance

LIFE stock opened at $1.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 6.07 and a current ratio of 6.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.11 and a beta of 1.19. aTyr Pharma has a 1 year low of $1.08 and a 1 year high of $2.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.65.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:LIFE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $0.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.11 million. On average, research analysts predict that aTyr Pharma will post -0.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Coughlin purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.75 per share, with a total value of $87,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 56,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sanjay Shukla purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.81 per share, with a total value of $36,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 136,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,151.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Coughlin acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.75 per share, with a total value of $87,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $132,650. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On aTyr Pharma

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in aTyr Pharma by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,556,925 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,520,000 after acquiring an additional 413,162 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of aTyr Pharma by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,652,157 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,172,000 after buying an additional 283,703 shares during the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE lifted its holdings in shares of aTyr Pharma by 425.8% during the 4th quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 293,706 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 237,849 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of aTyr Pharma by 105.3% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 224,147 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 114,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of aTyr Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at about $117,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.