Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $7.00 and last traded at $7.07, with a volume of 1599756 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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 issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $968.17 million, a P/E ratio of -1.88 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.00 and its 200-day moving average is $8.96.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $2.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. Vir Biotechnology’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.22) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 12,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total transaction of $95,082.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,616 shares in the company, valued at $90,604.80. This represents a 51.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 15,940 shares of company stock valued at $127,410 over the last 90 days. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. Barclays PLC increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 550,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,121,000 after buying an additional 7,287 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,135,000 after acquiring an additional 530,645 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 901.8% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,303 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 350,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,623,000 after purchasing an additional 33,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

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).