Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) Short Interest Up 25.0% in December

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,650,000 shares, an increase of 25.0% from the December 15th total of 2,920,000 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.25.

Atyr PHARMA Price Performance

NASDAQ:ATYR traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.61. The stock had a trading volume of 666,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,036,603. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.02 million, a PE ratio of -3.84 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 5.41 and a quick ratio of 5.41. Atyr PHARMA has a 1-year low of $1.39 and a 1-year high of $4.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3.38.

Atyr PHARMA (NASDAQ:ATYR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.01). On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Atyr PHARMA will post -0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atyr PHARMA

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Atyr PHARMA stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,440 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,754 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Atyr PHARMA were worth $55,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 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.