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

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,030,000 shares, an increase of 20.6% from the March 31st total of 8,320,000 shares. Currently, 11.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Atyr PHARMA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Atyr PHARMA in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atyr PHARMA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATYR. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atyr PHARMA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Alterna Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Atyr PHARMA in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Atyr PHARMA during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Atyr PHARMA during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Atyr PHARMA during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atyr PHARMA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ATYR traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $3.58. 746,125 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 904,413. The stock has a market cap of $318.12 million, a PE ratio of -3.81 and a beta of 0.79. The business's fifty day moving average is $3.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.41. Atyr PHARMA has a one year low of $1.42 and a one year high of $4.66. The company has a current ratio of 5.41, a quick ratio of 5.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Atyr PHARMA (NASDAQ:ATYR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.05. As a group, analysts predict that Atyr PHARMA will post -0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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.