Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.25.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price objective on Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Leerink Partners reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Brent Sabatini sold 7,711 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.12, for a total value of $70,324.32. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 61,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $564,546.24. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 124,270 shares of company stock valued at $1,155,605 over the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 1,418.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 6,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 153.8% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares during the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

VIR stock opened at $9.03 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.96. Vir Biotechnology has a fifty-two week low of $4.16 and a fifty-two week high of $11.66. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.88 and a beta of 1.65.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of ($0.03) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company posted ($0.88) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology will post -1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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.