Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Price Target Raised to $31.00 at Barclays

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays from $26.00 to $31.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 269.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on VIR. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Thursday. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

VIR traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,422,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,495,305. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.50. Vir Biotechnology has a 12-month low of $6.56 and a 12-month high of $14.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 0.63.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $12.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.14 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $137,219.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,431,135.32. The trade was a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total value of $107,556.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 708,295 shares in the company, valued at $6,948,373.95. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,935 shares of company stock worth $327,082. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 143.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 5,177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

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).