aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:LIFE) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:LIFE) in a research note issued on Saturday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

LIFE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on aTyr Pharma from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 15th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of aTyr Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.67.

aTyr Pharma Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 6.07, a quick ratio of 6.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. aTyr Pharma has a one year low of $1.08 and a one year high of $2.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.66. The firm has a market cap of $131.12 million, a PE ratio of -2.11 and a beta of 1.19.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:LIFE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $0.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.11 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that aTyr Pharma will post -0.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at aTyr Pharma

In related news, Director Timothy Coughlin purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.75 per share, for a total transaction of $87,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Timothy Coughlin purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.75 per share, with a total value of $87,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 56,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sanjay Shukla acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.81 per share, for a total transaction of $36,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 136,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,151.88. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $132,650. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On aTyr Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LIFE. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of aTyr Pharma by 119.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 45,366 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 24,704 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in aTyr Pharma by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,652,157 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,172,000 after acquiring an additional 283,703 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of aTyr Pharma in the first quarter worth about $55,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of aTyr Pharma by 105.3% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 224,147 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 114,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of aTyr Pharma during the first quarter worth approximately $117,000. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

About aTyr Pharma

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.