Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.63.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, March 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Up 13.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIR opened at $10.39 on Friday. Vir Biotechnology has a fifty-two week low of $7.61 and a fifty-two week high of $27.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.59. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.26 and a beta of 0.47.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $56.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.71 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 34.92% and a negative net margin of 713.69%. Vir Biotechnology’s revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.06) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total value of $690,532.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 678,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,418,203.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Vir Biotechnology news, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,995 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total transaction of $690,532.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 678,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,418,203.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Sung Lee sold 6,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.89, for a total value of $59,419.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 100,492 shares in the company, valued at $993,865.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,831 shares of company stock valued at $1,525,844 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VIR. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 69.3% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,613 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 96.4% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 7.2% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 25,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

Vir Biotechnology, Inc, a commercial-stage immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. It offers tobevibart + elebsiran for the treatment of chronic hepatitis delta; elebsiran + PEG-IFN-a, tobevibart ± elebsiran ± PEG-IFN-a, and elebsiran+ TLR8+PD-1 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B; VIR-1388 and Cure mAb combination for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus; VIR-8190 for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus / human metapneumovirus; VIR-2981 for the treatment of influenza; VIR-1949 for the treatment of pre-cancerous HPV lesions; and VIR07229 and Sotrovimab for the treatment of COVID-19 infection under the Xevudy brand.