Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVIR) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Atea Pharmaceuticals experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising by 19.8% to a total of 5,860,000 shares as of August 31st.
• Wall Street analysts downgraded Atea from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, with a consensus price target of $6.00 despite one analyst maintaining a "buy" rating.
• The stock is currently trading down 2.0% at $2.91, with a market cap of $230.94 million and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVIR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,860,000 shares, an increase of 19.8% from the August 15th total of 4,890,000 shares. Approximately 9.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 356,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 16.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 356,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 16.4 days. Approximately 9.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Atea Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Atea Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 704,909 shares of the company's stock worth $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 17,471 shares in the last quarter. CM Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals by 66.7% during the first quarter. CM Management LLC now owns 500,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,495,000 after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC increased its holdings in Atea Pharmaceuticals by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 452,060 shares of the company's stock worth $1,352,000 after buying an additional 123,479 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Atea Pharmaceuticals by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 304,530 shares of the company's stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 86,021 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Atea Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $870,000. 86.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Atea Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.0%

AVIR traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 647,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,429. Atea Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $2.45 and a 12 month high of $4.02. The stock has a market cap of $228.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.79 and a beta of 0.24. The business's 50-day moving average price is $3.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.19.

Atea Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVIR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.02. On average, analysts forecast that Atea Pharmaceuticals will post -2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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.