Morgan Stanley Upgrades Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) to Overweight

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $20.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $10.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 65.29% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on VIR. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.80.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

VIR stock opened at $12.10 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.36. Vir Biotechnology has a 1-year low of $6.56 and a 1-year high of $14.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 0.51.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.51). Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 678.40% and a negative return on equity of 36.71%. The business had revenue of $2.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.22) EPS. Vir Biotechnology’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vir Biotechnology

In related news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $137,219.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,431,135.32. The trade was a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,786 shares of company stock valued at $170,172. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,134,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,496,000 after purchasing an additional 136,087 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,135,000 after buying an additional 530,645 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter worth about $1,780,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 180.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 19,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 12,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,108,000 after acquiring an additional 606,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

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).