- Shares of Atea Therapeutics (AVIR +20.2%) shot up today following a recent mention in Barron's and an outperform rating from SVB Leerink.
- Barron's is bullish on Atea because of the company's COVID-19 antiviral, AT-527, which is in phase 3. Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY -0.8%) has ex-U.S. rights to the drug.
- Atea CEO Jean-Pierre Sommadossi told the publication the candidate has a dual mechanism that targets the enzyme RNA polymerase which plays a critical role in coronavirus replication.
- SVB Leerink analyst Roanna Ruiz has a $60 price target on shares (~129% upside).
- In a note, she emphasizes that Atea's phase 1 dengue candidate, AT-752, could also reap dividends for the company.
- At the end of June, Atea and Roche released positive phase 2 data on AT-527.