Vir Biotechnology’s (VIR) Buy Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright restated their buy rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $110.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on VIR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.80.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIR opened at $12.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 0.51. Vir Biotechnology has a 12-month low of $6.56 and a 12-month high of $14.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $8.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.35.

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 company had revenue of $2.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.22) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $137,219.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,312,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,431,135.32. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,786 shares of company stock worth $170,172. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VIR. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 13.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,134,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,496,000 after purchasing an additional 136,087 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,135,000 after buying an additional 530,645 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the 2nd quarter worth $1,780,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 180.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 19,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 12,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,108,000 after buying an additional 606,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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).