Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in 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 company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 443,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Activity

In other Atyr PHARMA news, Director Paul Schimmel bought 41,052 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.74 per share, for a total transaction of $71,430.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 354,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $616,090.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Atyr PHARMA Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of ATYR stock opened at $2.23 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $169.03 million, a P/E ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.86. Atyr PHARMA has a 52 week low of $1.08 and a 52 week high of $2.50.

Atyr PHARMA (NASDAQ:ATYR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.01. Equities research analysts expect 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.