Vir Biotechnology’s (VIR) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on VIR. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Up 2.4 %

VIR stock opened at $7.12 on Wednesday. Vir Biotechnology has a 52-week low of $6.56 and a 52-week high of $13.09. The firm has a market cap of $980.57 million, a P/E ratio of -1.82 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.87.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $2.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.22) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 12,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total value of $95,082.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,604.80. This represents a 51.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,940 shares of company stock valued at $127,410. 15.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 116.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 25,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 13,981 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,375,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,362,000 after purchasing an additional 78,216 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the first quarter worth about $259,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 5.7% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 310,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,141,000 after purchasing an additional 16,615 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vir Biotechnology

Vir Biotechnology, Inc, an immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. Its clinical development pipeline consists of product candidates targeting hepatitis delta virus (HDV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The company’s preclinical candidates include those targeting influenza A and B, coronavirus disease 2019, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (MPV), and human papillomavirus (HPV).