aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• aTyr Pharma's stock reached a new 52-week low of $1.00 after HC Wainwright downgraded it from a buy rating to a neutral rating.
• Multiple analysts, including Cantor Fitzgerald and Wall Street Zen, have recently downgraded the stock, with current ratings reflecting a shift towards caution among analysts.
• Despite being down 83.3% recently, institutional investors own 61.72% of the company, indicating ongoing interest from larger financial entities.

aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after HC Wainwright downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. The company traded as low as $1.00 and last traded at $1.01, with a volume of 153796609 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.03.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ATYR. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered aTyr Pharma from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded aTyr Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on aTyr Pharma from $17.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on aTyr Pharma from $9.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of aTyr Pharma in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Octagon Capital Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of aTyr Pharma by 294.7% during the first quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 3,552,000 shares of the company's stock worth $10,727,000 after buying an additional 2,652,000 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of aTyr Pharma during the first quarter worth about $1,812,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of aTyr Pharma during the fourth quarter worth about $330,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of aTyr Pharma during the fourth quarter worth about $720,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of aTyr Pharma during the fourth quarter worth about $1,332,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

aTyr Pharma Stock Down 83.3%

The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.28 and a 200 day moving average of $4.37.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that aTyr Pharma, Inc. will post -0.91 EPS 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.

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