aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIFE) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIFE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 231,400 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the October 15th total of 219,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 180,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIFE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on aTyr Pharma from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of aTyr Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of aTyr Pharma in a research note on Thursday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.75.

Institutional Trading of aTyr Pharma

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIFE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of aTyr Pharma by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,139,533 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,097,000 after acquiring an additional 26,342 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in aTyr Pharma by 48.1% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,908 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 26,909 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of aTyr Pharma by 12.7% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 760,798 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,070,000 after buying an additional 85,823 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of aTyr Pharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of aTyr Pharma by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,208,437 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,910,000 after buying an additional 39,068 shares in the last quarter. 62.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

aTyr Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIFE traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1.16. The company had a trading volume of 127,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,121. The firm has a market cap of $67.93 million, a PE ratio of -1.18 and a beta of 1.22. aTyr Pharma has a 1-year low of $1.08 and a 1-year high of $2.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 8.33 and a quick ratio of 8.33.

aTyr Pharma Company Profile

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.