Atea Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVIR) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Atea Pharmaceuticals has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating.
• Morgan Stanley lowered its target price for Atea's shares from $6.20 to $6.00 while maintaining an "equal weight" rating.
• Atea Pharmaceuticals reported an earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.44), slightly exceeding analysts' estimates of ($0.46) for the last quarter.

Atea Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVIR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Atea Pharmaceuticals from $6.20 to $6.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Atea Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

AVIR stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.50. The stock had a trading volume of 157,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 384,357. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.14. The firm has a market cap of $277.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 0.25. Atea Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $2.45 and a twelve month high of $4.14.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atea Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tang Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 4,788,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,043,000 after purchasing an additional 181,852 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,216,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,076,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 977,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,274,000 after purchasing an additional 183,844 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 704,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 17,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 582,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 10,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.67% of the company's stock.

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.