Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Receives “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on VIR. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Up 3.1 %

VIR stock opened at $6.95 on Wednesday. Vir Biotechnology has a 52-week low of $6.56 and a 52-week high of $13.09. The stock has a market cap of $957.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.77 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $7.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.89.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 12,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total transaction of $95,082.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,604.80. This trade represents a 51.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 15,940 shares of company stock worth $127,410 in the last ninety days. 15.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,375,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,362,000 after buying an additional 78,216 shares during the period. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,780,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Vir Biotechnology by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 180.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 19,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 12,598 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,108,000 after purchasing an additional 606,804 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).