aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) Shares Down 6.2% – Here’s Why

aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR)’s share price fell 6.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $0.95 and last traded at $0.97. 7,970,317 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 11,400,861 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATYR. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of aTyr Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on aTyr Pharma from $9.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald cut aTyr Pharma from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of aTyr Pharma in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright downgraded aTyr Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.25.

aTyr Pharma Stock Down 6.2%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.90. The company has a quick ratio of 5.63, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $94.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.21 and a beta of 0.79.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.04). As a group, analysts predict that aTyr Pharma, Inc. will post -0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other aTyr Pharma news, Director Paul Schimmel purchased 682,001 shares of aTyr Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $0.90 per share, with a total value of $613,800.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,095,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $985,521.60. This represents a 165.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On aTyr Pharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATYR. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in aTyr Pharma during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of aTyr Pharma in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of aTyr Pharma in the second quarter valued at about $49,000. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of aTyr Pharma in the second quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of aTyr Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

aTyr Pharma Company Profile

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.