Need To Know: Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVIR) Insiders Have Been Buying Shares

We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVIR).

What Is Insider Buying?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.

See our latest analysis for Atea Pharmaceuticals

Atea Pharmaceuticals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Director Franklin Berger bought US$1m worth of shares at a price of US$24.00 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$73.00. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Atea Pharmaceuticals is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Atea Pharmaceuticals insiders own about US$639m worth of shares (which is 11% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Atea Pharmaceuticals Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Atea Pharmaceuticals. Looks promising! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Atea Pharmaceuticals you should be aware of.

Of course Atea Pharmaceuticals may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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