aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIFE) Short Interest Up 66.1% in April

aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIFE - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 636,200 shares, a growth of 66.1% from the April 15th total of 383,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 572,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

aTyr Pharma Stock Down 1.7 %

LIFE traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1.69. 224,343 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 386,109. The company has a quick ratio of 6.07, a current ratio of 6.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. aTyr Pharma has a 1-year low of $1.08 and a 1-year high of $2.70. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.57. The stock has a market cap of $116.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.88 and a beta of 1.27.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:LIFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $0.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.11 million. Sell-side analysts predict that aTyr Pharma will post -0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On aTyr Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in aTyr Pharma by 5.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,556,925 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $13,520,000 after acquiring an additional 413,162 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of aTyr Pharma by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,652,157 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,172,000 after purchasing an additional 283,703 shares during the period. Pale Fire Capital SE lifted its stake in aTyr Pharma by 425.8% in the 4th quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 293,706 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 237,849 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in aTyr Pharma by 105.3% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 224,147 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 114,983 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in aTyr Pharma during the first quarter worth approximately $117,000. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of aTyr Pharma in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on aTyr Pharma from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, aTyr Pharma presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.67.

aTyr Pharma Company Profile

aTyr Pharma, Inc, a biotherapeutics company, engages in the discovery and development of medicines based on novel immunological pathways in the United States. Its lead therapeutic candidate is efzofitimod, a selective modulator of NRP2 that is in Phase III clinical trial for pulmonary sarcoidosis; and in Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for treatment of other interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), such as chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis and connective tissue disease related ILD.