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

Atyr PHARMA INC (NASDAQ:ATYR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 346,800 shares, an increase of 28.2% from the July 31st total of 270,600 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 384,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul Schimmel purchased 52,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1.93 per share, for a total transaction of $100,939.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 413,023 shares in the company, valued at $797,134.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ATYR. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Atyr PHARMA in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

Atyr PHARMA Price Performance

NASDAQ ATYR opened at $1.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 6.07 and a quick ratio of 6.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.43 million, a P/E ratio of -2.10 and a beta of 1.25. Atyr PHARMA has a 12-month low of $1.08 and a 12-month high of $2.50.

Atyr PHARMA (NASDAQ:ATYR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.01. On average, equities analysts expect that Atyr PHARMA will post -0.89 earnings per share 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.