Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVIR) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVIR) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,630,000 shares, a decline of 5.4% from the September 30th total of 2,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 204,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 12.9 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Atea Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVIR remained flat at $3.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday. 87,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 302,004. The firm has a market cap of $276.90 million, a PE ratio of -1.56 and a beta of 0.17. Atea Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $2.77 and a 52 week high of $4.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.63.

Atea Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVIR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.28. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.34) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Atea Pharmaceuticals will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atea Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Jean-Pierre Sommadossi sold 33,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.05, for a total transaction of $137,461.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,890,053 shares in the company, valued at $23,854,714.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atea Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 34,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,339 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 6,343 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 67,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 11,968 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 125,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 15,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals by 117.9% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 16,561 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AVIR shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $2.00 to $6.88 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. William Blair upgraded shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th.

About Atea Pharmaceuticals

Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes antiviral therapeutics for patients with viral infections. Its lead product candidate is AT-527, an oral antiviral candidate that is in Phase 3 SUNRISE-3 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with COVID-19.