Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.8750.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

NASDAQ VIR opened at $9.16 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.24. The company has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.93 and a beta of 1.65. Vir Biotechnology has a 1 year low of $4.16 and a 1 year high of $11.66.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of ($0.03) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 53.31% and a negative net margin of 638.88%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.88) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology will post -1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total value of $221,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,078,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,837,829.55. This represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Janet Napolitano sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total transaction of $30,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,491.20. This trade represents a 13.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 120,138 shares of company stock valued at $1,119,102 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 911,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,207,000 after acquiring an additional 215,882 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 417,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 203,203 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 227.8% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 189,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 131,555 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 367,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 53,088 shares during the period. Finally, Nano Cap New Millennium Growth Fund L P bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. 65.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

Vir Biotechnology, Inc is a clinical‐stage immunology company dedicated to developing therapies that prevent and treat serious infectious diseases. The company leverages a suite of proprietary technology platforms—ranging from antibody isolation and screening tools to cell‐based assays and bioinformatics—to identify and advance antiviral and antibacterial candidates. Its scientific approach centers on harnessing the human immune system through monoclonal antibodies and immunomodulatory agents.

The company’s pipeline includes product candidates targeting influenza A, COVID‐19, HIV, hepatitis B, and tuberculosis.