Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:LONA) Shares Down 6.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 6.5% intraday to $9.07 on Tuesday with only 35,461 shares traded, about 51% below average volume, after closing at $9.70 the prior session.
• Analyst coverage is mixed—Mizuho and Cantor Fitzgerald recently upgraded the stock while Weiss Ratings and Wall Street Zen issued sell calls—leaving an average MarketBeat rating of Hold and an average price target of $10.00.
• Athira reported a very large quarterly loss of ($18.90) EPS, and insiders have been selling shares (CEO sold 5,156 shares at $5.37), though insiders still own about 25.07% of the company.

Shares of Athira Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LONA - Get Free Report) traded down 6.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $9.06 and last traded at $9.07. 35,461 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 72,584 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LONA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho raised Athira Pharma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research raised shares of Athira Pharma to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Athira Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 26th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings began coverage on shares of Athira Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. They issued a "sell (d-)" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Athira Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.00.

Athira Pharma Trading Down 6.5%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.79.

Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:LONA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported ($18.90) earnings per share for the quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Athira Pharma news, CEO Mark James Litton sold 5,156 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.37, for a total transaction of $27,687.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 57,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $311,062.62. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 9,110 shares of company stock worth $48,921 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 25.07% of the company's stock.

About Athira Pharma

Athira Pharma, traded as LONA on the NASDAQ, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small-molecule therapeutics intended to restore neuronal health and function in neurodegenerative and cognitive disorders. The company's research approach centers on modulating pathways involved in synaptic repair and neurotrophic signaling to address underlying neuronal dysfunction rather than solely treating symptoms.

Athira's lead investigational therapy is fosgonimeton (ATH-1017), a small-molecule candidate designed to potentiate hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/MET pathway signaling with the aim of improving synaptic connectivity and cognitive performance in patients with conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and related cognitive impairments.

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