Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has $20.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $10.00.

A number of other research firms have also commented on VIR. Barclays cut 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 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 four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.80.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 58.2 %

Shares of VIR stock opened at $12.48 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $8.18 and its 200 day moving average is $8.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.18 and a beta of 0.51. Vir Biotechnology has a 12 month low of $6.56 and a 12 month high of $14.45.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) EPS 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 the consensus estimate 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 revenue 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 year.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $137,219.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 14,786 shares of company stock valued at $170,172 over the last 90 days. 15.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIR. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% during 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. State Street Corp grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 530,645 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 19,327.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 300,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,671,000 after purchasing an additional 298,603 shares during the period. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,780,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 6,402.0% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 188,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,679,000 after purchasing an additional 185,723 shares during the period. 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).