aTyr Pharma Loses US$47m Market Value But Insiders See Windfall Of US$370k

Insiders who bought aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) stock lover the last 12 months are probably not as affected by last week’s 13% loss. Even after accounting for the recent loss, the US$326.5k worth of stock purchased by them is now worth US$696.6k or in other words, their investment continues to give good returns.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for aTyr Pharma

aTyr Pharma Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Director Paul Schimmel bought US$185k worth of shares at a price of US$1.93 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$3.87. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

While aTyr Pharma insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

aTyr Pharma is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. From our data, it seems that aTyr Pharma insiders own 2.4% of the company, worth about US$7.8m. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Do The aTyr Pharma Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think aTyr Pharma insiders are doubting the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for aTyr Pharma you should be aware of, and 3 of them are significant.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.