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

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.4444.

VIR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Vir Biotechnology from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.07, for a total value of $199,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,100,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,980,546.37. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,559 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.16, for a total value 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 approximately $8,685,008.20. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 257,816 shares of company stock worth $2,326,218 in the last ninety days. 16.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 1,418.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 6,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 153.8% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 4,899 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIR opened at $10.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of -3.18 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.07. Vir Biotechnology has a 12 month low of $4.16 and a 12 month high of $10.94.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $64.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.91 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 49.31% and a negative net margin of 638.88%.The firm’s revenue was up 417.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.76) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 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.