Vir Biotechnology’s (VIR) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 44.37% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.63.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 13.2 %

Shares of VIR traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.39. 1,690,966 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,050,141. Vir Biotechnology has a 1 year low of $7.61 and a 1 year high of $27.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.82 and its 200-day moving average is $9.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.26 and a beta of 0.47.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.51. The business 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%. The company’s revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.06) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -4.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In related news, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total value of $690,532.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 678,457 shares in the company, valued at $6,418,203.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Ann M. Hanly sold 2,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total value of $27,245.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 132,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,327,293.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,995 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total transaction of $690,532.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 678,457 shares in the company, valued at $6,418,203.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 152,831 shares of company stock valued at $1,525,844. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 1,975.0% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 207,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,944,000 after acquiring an additional 197,500 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 124.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 412,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,863,000 after acquiring an additional 228,634 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 582.9% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 162,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 138,387 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,098,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,200,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,950,000 after buying an additional 960,302 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vir Biotechnology

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.