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

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, a growth of 98.3% from the September 15th total of 685,800 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 443,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATYR has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $9.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other Atyr PHARMA news, Director Paul Schimmel acquired 41,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1.74 per share, with a total value of $71,430.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 354,075 shares in the company, valued at $616,090.50. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Atyr PHARMA Price Performance

Atyr PHARMA stock opened at $2.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 7.63 and a quick ratio of 7.63. The firm has a market cap of $146.30 million, a PE ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1.85. Atyr PHARMA has a 12-month low of $1.08 and a 12-month high of $2.50.

Atyr PHARMA (NASDAQ:ATYR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.01. As a group, analysts forecast that Atyr PHARMA will post -0.91 EPS for the current year.

About Atyr PHARMA

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.