Short Interest in aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) Decreases By 42.9%

aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,277,406 shares, a decrease of 42.9% from the June 30th total of 14,505,076 shares. Currently, 9.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,945,452 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ATYR shares. Freedom Capital raised aTyr Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings raised aTyr Pharma from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded aTyr Pharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at aTyr Pharma

In other aTyr Pharma news, Director Paul Schimmel bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $0.50 per share, with a total value of $50,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 779,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,571.50. This trade represents a 14.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of aTyr Pharma

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in aTyr Pharma by 21.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,630,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,060,000 after acquiring an additional 975,887 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in aTyr Pharma by 158.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,505,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 2,760,238 shares during the last quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of aTyr Pharma by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 3,820,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,367,000 after purchasing an additional 268,000 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of aTyr Pharma by 272.2% during the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,630,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923,907 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of aTyr Pharma by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 105,514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

aTyr Pharma Stock Performance

ATYR stock remained flat at $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 114,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,046,495. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $0.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $0.71. aTyr Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $0.40 and a fifty-two week high of $6.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.36 million, a P/E ratio of -0.66 and a beta of 0.52.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.05. On average, equities analysts predict that aTyr Pharma will post -0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

aTyr Pharma Company Profile

aTyr Pharma, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel protein-based therapies that modulate the extracellular matrix and immune pathways. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company applies its proprietary Extracellular Modulation® platform to identify and optimize biologic candidates for the treatment of rare and serious diseases, including pulmonary sarcoidosis, muscular dystrophy, and solid tumors.

The company’s research efforts are centered on harnessing extracellular proteins to regulate tissue remodeling, cell adhesion, and immune signaling.