aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) Receives $17.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.00.

ATYR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut aTyr Pharma from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Freedom Capital raised aTyr Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of aTyr Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th.

aTyr Pharma Stock Performance

ATYR opened at $0.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $0.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $0.74. aTyr Pharma has a 52 week low of $0.40 and a 52 week high of $7.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.43 million, a PE ratio of -0.83 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul Schimmel acquired 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $0.50 per share, for a total transaction of $50,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 779,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $389,571.50. This represents a 14.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 5.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On aTyr Pharma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATYR. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in aTyr Pharma by 139.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 303,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 176,859 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in aTyr Pharma in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in aTyr Pharma in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in aTyr Pharma by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 50,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 13,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of aTyr Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $603,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.