Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR – Get Rating) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.83.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Vir Biotechnology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 3rd. TheStreet cut shares of Vir Biotechnology from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $80.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $300.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 30th.

Shares of Vir Biotechnology stock opened at $23.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.17, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of -0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.93 and its 200 day moving average is $33.86. Vir Biotechnology has a 1 year low of $20.52 and a 1 year high of $58.00.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 24th. The company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.60 by $1.32. The business had revenue of $812.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $622.90 million. Vir Biotechnology had a net margin of 48.26% and a return on equity of 57.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 46771.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.83) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In related news, CTO Ann M. Hanly sold 2,627 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.24, for a total value of $68,932.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 15,173 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.39, for a total transaction of $567,318.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,635 shares of company stock valued at $1,744,091 over the last three months. 37.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. Macquarie Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 186.0% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Dupont Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 71.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile (Get Rating)

Vir Biotechnology, Inc, a commercial-stage immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. It develops Sotrovimab (VIR-7832), a SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing mAbs to treat and prevent COVID-19 infection under the Xevudy brand; VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 for the treatment of hepatitis B virus; VIR-2482 for the prevention of influenza A virus; and VIR-1111 for the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus.

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