We recently published a list of 10 Best Multibagger Stocks To Buy Heading into 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) stands against other best multibagger stocks.
November has been an eventful month so far for the market as the Fed cut rates by a quarter percentage and president-elect, Donald Trump won the election for the second time. The market reacted positively to these events as the major indices touched all-time highs and even Bitcoin finally broke off its shell after many months, reaching an all-time high of $93,000.
More recently, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that solid economic growth, low unemployment, and inflation above 2% mean there’s no urgency to cut interest rates. Speaking in Dallas, Powell said inflation is on a path toward the Fed’s 2% target, allowing for cautious policy adjustments.
He highlighted the economy’s strong fundamentals but acknowledged persistent inflation pressures. While a rate cut is expected by the market in December, it anticipates fewer cuts next year due to steady inflation and policy uncertainties. According to the CME FedWatch, 62.4% of the interest rate traders expect a 25 bps rate cut in December. However, in January, 55.5% of the market anticipates the rates to remain the same after the December cut.
Powell emphasized that the Fed will monitor inflation closely, especially housing costs, as it aims to reach its target sustainably.
READ ALSO: 12 High Growth Large Cap Stocks to Buy Now and 10 Best Low Volatility Stocks to Invest in Now.
Election Boosts Market Optimism but Risks Remain
Stuart Kaiser, Citi’s head of equity trading strategy recently joined CNBC’s Closing Bell. In the post-election discussion, Kaiser expressed a generally optimistic outlook, with confidence that the markets have cleared the immediate uncertainties related to the election. Kaiser noted a temporary boost from this event but emphasized that moving forward, market focus will return to U.S. economic growth, the Fed’s actions, and corporate earnings.
While he believes valuations are currently more justifiable with expected growth from deregulation and new policy changes, he remains cautious about risks tied to bond market movements and rising yields. He suggested that rising yields linked to economic growth are manageable for equities, but warned against yields climbing due to fiscal or tariff issues, which could unsettle the market.
Regarding equity strategy, Kaiser advocated a cautious approach to small-cap investments, preferring high-quality, profitable small caps due to their domestic focus, which could shield them from trade policy risks impacting larger companies. Additionally, although Kaiser doesn’t handle non-traditional assets directly, he acknowledged that assets like Bitcoin might gain traction in a strong economic or supportive policy environment.
Our Methodology
For this article, we used the Finviz stock screener to identify over 350 stocks with share price gains of over 100% in the last 12 months, as of November 13. Next, we narrowed our list to 28 stocks with share price gains of 200% either in the last 12 or 24 months and Buy or better ratings from analysts. From that list, we removed the stocks that had negative share price returns compared to 24 months ago and finally narrowed the list to 10 stocks with an average analyst price target upside of over 100%. The 10 best multi-bagger stocks are listed in ascending order of their average price target upside.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR)
1-Year Share Price Performance: ~226%
2-Year Share Price Performance: ~47%
Average Price Target Upside: 455.56%
aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) focuses on developing therapies targeting unique immune pathways. Its main drug candidate, efzofitimod, aims to treat pulmonary sarcoidosis and other interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) and is currently in advanced clinical trials. The company is also working on ATYR0101, a preclinical candidate for fibrosis(thickening or scarring of connective tissue in the body), and ATYR0750 for liver disorders.
Its primary candidate, Efzofitimod is an innovative biologic immunomodulator being developed to treat ILD. Derived from tRNA synthetase, efzofitimod works by targeting neuropilin-2 on myeloid cells to control inflammation without suppressing the immune system, potentially slowing fibrosis.
aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYR) recently shared its third-quarter 2024 updates, including progress on key clinical trials for its lead candidate, efzofitimod. The company has completed patient enrollment for the Phase 3 EFZO-FIT study, which evaluates efzofitimod for pulmonary sarcoidosis, and expects preliminary results by Q3 2025.
As of the third quarter, the company held $68.9 million in cash, equivalents, restricted cash, and investments. After the quarter ended, the company raised an additional $19.4 million from an at-the-market offering with Jefferies LLC, before deducting related expenses.
The company expects these funds to support its operations until it files a Biologics License Application (BLA) for efzofitimod in pulmonary sarcoidosis. Research and development expenses for Q3 2024 were $14.8 million, driven largely by clinical trials, manufacturing for efzofitimod, and other research activities. General and administrative expenses totaled $3.3 million for the same period.
On November 8, TipRanks reported that H.C. Wainwright analyst Joseph Pantginis reaffirmed a Buy rating on aTyr (NASDAQ:ATYR), setting a $35 price target. Pantginis highlighted the company’s solid financial footing, ending Q3 2024 with $68.9 million in cash, anticipated to reach $87 million after recent ATM proceeds, which secures funding past the expected Phase 3 trial data release and BLA filing.
The ongoing Phase 3 EFZO-FIT trial for efzofitimod in pulmonary sarcoidosis is pivotal for the company, as there are no FDA-approved treatments for this condition affecting many in the U.S. Early trial enrollment completion also suggests strong interest and significant potential in the upcoming data.
Overall, ATYR ranks 1st on our list of best multibagger stocks to buy heading into 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of ATYR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ATYR but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.