Short Interest in aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) Decreases By 14.7%

aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 21,334,051 shares, a drop of 14.7% from the December 31st total of 25,013,857 shares. Currently, 22.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,505,427 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 14.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,505,427 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 14.2 days. Currently, 22.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

aTyr Pharma Stock Up 3.8%

ATYR stock opened at $0.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.51 million, a P/E ratio of -1.06 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $0.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.16. aTyr Pharma has a 52 week low of $0.64 and a 52 week high of $7.29.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $0.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.91 million. On average, analysts expect that aTyr Pharma will post -0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of aTyr Pharma in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On aTyr Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of aTyr Pharma by 21.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,630,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,060,000 after buying an additional 975,887 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of aTyr Pharma by 158.1% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,505,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 2,760,238 shares in the last quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of aTyr Pharma by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 3,820,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,367,000 after acquiring an additional 268,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in aTyr Pharma by 126.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,098,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in aTyr Pharma by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,890,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 340,721 shares in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About aTyr Pharma

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.