aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) Stock Price Up 7.5% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• aTyr Pharma stock price increased by 7.5% on Friday, reaching a last traded price of $5.66, despite a 43% decline in trading volume compared to its average.
• Analysts have mixed opinions: while Wells Fargo raised its target price to $25.00, Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to a "sell" rating, with an overall consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $23.25.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.22), missing estimates by $0.04, and forecasts an EPS of (-0.91) for the current fiscal year.

aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR - Get Free Report) rose 7.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $5.63 and last traded at $5.66. Approximately 1,484,125 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 2,622,319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ATYR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 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 increased their price objective on shares of aTyr Pharma from $9.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of aTyr Pharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of aTyr Pharma in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $23.25.

aTyr Pharma Trading Up 9.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 5.63, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $5.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $563.93 million, a P/E ratio of -7.04 and a beta of 1.01.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.04). Equities research analysts anticipate that aTyr Pharma, Inc. will post -0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On aTyr Pharma

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATYR. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of aTyr Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in aTyr Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in aTyr Pharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in aTyr Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in aTyr Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company's stock.

aTyr Pharma Company Profile

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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