Short Interest in Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) Rises By 8.5%

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,820,000 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the January 15th total of 3,520,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Atyr PHARMA Price Performance

Shares of ATYR stock traded up $0.19 on Thursday, hitting $4.44. 2,089,707 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 963,202. The firm has a market cap of $372.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 5.41 and a quick ratio of 5.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.86. Atyr PHARMA has a 52 week low of $1.42 and a 52 week high of $4.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Atyr PHARMA to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Atyr PHARMA in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in Atyr PHARMA in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Atyr PHARMA in the fourth quarter worth about $6,092,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atyr PHARMA in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in Atyr PHARMA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in Atyr PHARMA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.