aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday. Approximately 111,433 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 78% from the average daily volume of 62,656 shares. The stock last traded at $5.36 and had previously closed at $5.1360.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of aTyr Pharma from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of aTyr Pharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

aTyr Pharma Stock Up 5.7%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $0.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $532.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.71 and a beta of 0.91.

aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported ($4.40) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($4.86) by $0.46. Sell-side analysts forecast that aTyr Pharma, Inc. will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On aTyr Pharma

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in aTyr Pharma stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 40,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

aTyr Pharma Company Profile

aTyr Pharma, Inc (NASDAQ:ATYR) is a biotechnology company focused on developing therapies that modulate immune system activity. The company’s research is based on a class of naturally occurring proteins known as extracellular tRNA synthetases, which can influence biological processes involved in inflammation, tissue repair and immune regulation.

aTyr’s lead product candidate is efzofitimod, an engineered protein therapeutic designed to target neuropilin-2 and regulate immune responses in the lungs.