aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) Upgraded by Freedom Capital to “Strong-Buy” Rating

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) was upgraded by equities researchers at Freedom Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ATYR. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of aTyr Pharma in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen raised aTyr Pharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.67.

aTyr Pharma Trading Up 9.9%

ATYR opened at $0.53 on Wednesday. aTyr Pharma has a 1-year low of $0.40 and a 1-year high of $7.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.73 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $0.79 and a 200-day moving average of $0.80.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATYR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake 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 valued at $3,249,000 after acquiring an additional 2,760,238 shares during the last quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP increased its stake 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. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of aTyr Pharma by 272.2% in the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,630,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 1,923,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of aTyr Pharma by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after acquiring an additional 105,514 shares during the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.