aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.00.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ATYR. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of aTyr Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of aTyr Pharma from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of aTyr Pharma in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of aTyr Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul Schimmel acquired 100,000 shares of aTyr Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $0.50 per share, with a total value of $50,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 779,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $389,571.50. The trade was a 14.72% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On aTyr Pharma

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of aTyr Pharma by 158.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,505,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,249,000 after acquiring an additional 2,760,238 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in aTyr Pharma by 272.2% during the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,630,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923,907 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in aTyr Pharma by 334.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,599,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,052 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in aTyr Pharma by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,630,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,060,000 after purchasing an additional 975,887 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in aTyr Pharma in the 4th quarter worth about $603,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

aTyr Pharma Price Performance

Shares of ATYR opened at $0.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 0.52. aTyr Pharma has a 1 year low of $0.40 and a 1 year high of $7.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $0.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $0.74.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.05. On average, sell-side analysts expect that aTyr Pharma will post -0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

aTyr Pharma Company Profile

aTyr Pharma, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel protein-based therapies that modulate the extracellular matrix and immune pathways. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company applies its proprietary Extracellular Modulation® platform to identify and optimize biologic candidates for the treatment of rare and serious diseases, including pulmonary sarcoidosis, muscular dystrophy, and solid tumors.

The company’s research efforts are centered on harnessing extracellular proteins to regulate tissue remodeling, cell adhesion, and immune signaling.