Short Interest in Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) Grows By 55.1%

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,660,000 shares, a growth of 55.1% from the October 15th total of 1,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 761,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ATYR shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $9.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $17.00 target price for the company.

Atyr PHARMA Stock Down 6.8 %

ATYR stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $3.28. 527,302 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 570,464. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $2.44. The company has a quick ratio of 5.41, a current ratio of 5.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Atyr PHARMA has a 52 week low of $1.09 and a 52 week high of $3.80. The stock has a market cap of $275.32 million, a PE ratio of -3.43 and a beta of 1.10.

Atyr PHARMA (NASDAQ:ATYR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.01). As a group, equities research analysts expect that Atyr PHARMA will post -0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.