aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Jones Trading

Key Points

• aTyr Pharma has been downgraded by Jones Trading from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, with a consensus rating of "hold" across several analysts.
• The stock's average price target has increased to $23.25, despite the company reporting an earnings miss for the last quarter.
• Institutional investors hold 61.72% of aTyr Pharma's stock, indicating significant interest from larger entities in the market.

Jones Trading downgraded shares of aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered aTyr Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Leerink Partnrs cut aTyr Pharma from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut aTyr Pharma from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of aTyr Pharma in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on aTyr Pharma from $9.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.25.

aTyr Pharma Price Performance

ATYR stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Monday, hitting $0.99. The stock had a trading volume of 26,837,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,429,491. aTyr Pharma has a 1-year low of $0.95 and a 1-year high of $7.29. The company's 50 day moving average price is $4.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 5.63 and a current ratio of 5.63. The stock has a market cap of $97.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.24 and a beta of 1.01.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.04). On average, sell-side analysts forecast that aTyr Pharma will post -0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of aTyr Pharma in the second quarter worth approximately $70,000. Octagon Capital Advisors LP raised its position in shares of aTyr Pharma by 7.5% in the second quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 3,820,000 shares of the company's stock worth $19,367,000 after buying an additional 268,000 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of aTyr Pharma in the second quarter worth $99,000. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in aTyr Pharma during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of aTyr Pharma by 79.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,839 shares of the company's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 10,989 shares during the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.