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

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Atyr PHARMA currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $19.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Atyr PHARMA stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,440 shares of the company’s stock after buying 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.

Atyr PHARMA Price Performance

Shares of ATYR stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.61. 666,129 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,036,603. Atyr PHARMA has a fifty-two week low of $1.39 and a fifty-two week high of $4.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 5.41 and a current ratio of 5.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3.38. The firm has a market cap of $303.02 million, a P/E ratio of -3.84 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Atyr PHARMA Company Profile

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.