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

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research 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 price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.8750.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vir Biotechnology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, April 10th.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

Shares of VIR opened at $10.03 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.35. Vir Biotechnology has a fifty-two week low of $4.16 and a fifty-two week high of $11.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of -3.20 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In related news, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,559 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.16, for a total transaction of $664,640.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 948,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,685,008.20. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Janet Napolitano sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 21,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $200,491.20. The trade was a 13.11% decrease in their position. 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 120,138 shares of company stock valued at $1,119,102 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GSK plc purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,562,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,229,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,564,000 after buying an additional 988,262 shares during the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the first quarter worth $24,593,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,579,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,107,000 after buying an additional 43,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 5.9% in the second quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,380,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,999,000 after buying an additional 132,466 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

About Vir Biotechnology

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.