Vir Biotechnology’s (VIR) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 153.67% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VIR. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.80.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VIR opened at $7.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.09 and a beta of 0.46. Vir Biotechnology has a 1-year low of $7.12 and a 1-year high of $13.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.74 and a 200-day moving average of $8.86.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.96) by ($0.60). Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 30.93% and a negative net margin of 612.40%. The company had revenue of $2.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.22) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 12,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total transaction of $95,082.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,604.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 143.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $95,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).