Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) Short Interest Update

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 440,900 shares, an increase of 27.1% from the August 15th total of 346,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 387,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity at Atyr PHARMA

In other Atyr PHARMA news, Director Paul Schimmel purchased 41,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.74 per share, for a total transaction of $71,430.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 354,075 shares in the company, valued at $616,090.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATYR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock.

Atyr PHARMA Stock Performance

Shares of ATYR stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $1.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 235,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,558. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $1.87. Atyr PHARMA has a 1-year low of $1.08 and a 1-year high of $2.50. The company has a market capitalization of $131.81 million, a P/E ratio of -2.11 and a beta of 1.22.

Atyr PHARMA (NASDAQ:ATYR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.01. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atyr PHARMA will post -0.91 EPS for the current 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.