Brokerages Set Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) PT at $17.30

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.30.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VIR shares. Bank of America raised Vir Biotechnology from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Monday, September 15th.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In related news, major shareholder Endurance (Cayman) Ltd Svf sold 191,854 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.98, for a total value of $1,147,286.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,728,924 shares in the company, valued at $82,098,965.52. The trade was a 1.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jason O’byrne sold 6,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.56, for a total value of $37,802.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 110,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $615,497.56. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,031,666 shares of company stock valued at $18,292,045 in the last three months. 16.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. ARCH Venture Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter valued at approximately $65,100,000. Orbimed Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,380,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,999,000 after purchasing an additional 132,466 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,526,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,715,000 after purchasing an additional 519,374 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 129.2% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,396,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,974,000 after purchasing an additional 787,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 9.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,374,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,909,000 after buying an additional 122,219 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

VIR opened at $6.58 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.38. The company has a market capitalization of $915.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.82 and a beta of 1.34. Vir Biotechnology has a 1-year low of $4.16 and a 1-year high of $14.45.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $0.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a negative net margin of 2,963.54%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.56) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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).