Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.14.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann M. Hanly sold 2,711 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total value of $27,245.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 132,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,327,293.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Saira Ramasastry sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.95, for a total transaction of $43,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,619 shares in the company, valued at $160,078.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Hanly sold 2,711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total value of $27,245.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 132,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,327,293.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,706 shares of company stock worth $761,578. Insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 310,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,141,000 after acquiring an additional 16,615 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the first quarter worth about $259,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 0.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 period. 65.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIR opened at $8.87 on Friday. Vir Biotechnology has a 12 month low of $7.61 and a 12 month high of $25.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.90.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.51. The company had revenue of $56.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.71 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 677.69% and a negative return on equity of 32.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.06) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.57 EPS for the current year.

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.