aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ATYR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of aTyr Pharma in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. 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 note on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.00.

aTyr Pharma Trading Down 5.8%

NASDAQ:ATYR opened at $0.53 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $0.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $0.75. aTyr Pharma has a twelve month low of $0.40 and a twelve month high of $7.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.72 and a beta of 0.55.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.05. On average, analysts predict that aTyr Pharma will post -0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other aTyr Pharma news, Director Paul Schimmel bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $0.50 per share, with a total value of $50,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 779,143 shares in the company, valued at $389,571.50. The trade was a 14.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On aTyr Pharma

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATYR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of aTyr Pharma by 21.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,630,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,060,000 after buying an additional 975,887 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in aTyr Pharma by 158.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,505,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,249,000 after acquiring an additional 2,760,238 shares in the last quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP boosted its stake in aTyr Pharma by 7.5% during 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. 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 worth $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 1,923,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in aTyr Pharma by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,789,000 after acquiring an additional 105,514 shares in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.