Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $14.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Vir Biotechnology traded as low as $4.69 and last traded at $4.70, with a volume of 2549640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.30.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VIR. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.86.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total value of $67,389.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 79,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $726,264.40. The trade was a 8.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 79,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $474,286.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 769,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,554.75. This represents a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,611 shares of company stock valued at $663,525 in the last 90 days. 15.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIR. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,196,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,127,000 after purchasing an additional 7,827 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,915,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,059,000 after purchasing an additional 703,360 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,715,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,589,000 after purchasing an additional 610,367 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Vir Biotechnology by 9.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,374,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,909,000 after purchasing an additional 122,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,237,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,084,000 after purchasing an additional 55,300 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Down 11.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $648.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $6.15 and its 200-day moving average is $7.90.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by ($0.05). Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. The company had revenue of $3.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.48) earnings per share. Vir Biotechnology’s revenue was down 94.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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).