Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVIR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVIR) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,830,000 shares, a growth of 13.7% from the August 15th total of 2,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 233,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 12.1 days. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVIR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. William Blair upgraded shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $2.00 to $6.88 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th.

Atea Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

AVIR stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $3.89. 210,686 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 324,194. The company has a market cap of $327.63 million, a P/E ratio of -1.98 and a beta of 0.18. Atea Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $2.77 and a 52-week high of $4.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.73.

Atea Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVIR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.28. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.34) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atea Pharmaceuticals will post -2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atea Pharmaceuticals

In other Atea Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce Polsky sold 17,544 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.49, for a total value of $61,228.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 65,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,964.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 17.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atea Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position 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 valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 4,339 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Atea Pharmaceuticals by 67.6% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 6,526 shares during the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC acquired a new position in Atea Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Atea Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, RPO LLC acquired a new position in Atea Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.67% of the company’s stock.

Atea Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.