HC Wainwright Reaffirms Buy Rating for Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on VIR. Leerink Partners upped their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.83.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Down 5.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VIR opened at $10.31 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $8.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.52. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of -2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Vir Biotechnology has a fifty-two week low of $6.56 and a fifty-two week high of $14.45.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued 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%. The company’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.22) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $137,219.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,431,135.32. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 13,383 shares of company stock worth $160,070 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VIR. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,135,000 after acquiring an additional 530,645 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,666,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter worth $1,485,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,134,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,496,000 after purchasing an additional 136,087 shares in the last quarter. 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).