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

Shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment 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 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.6250.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Vir Biotechnology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $25.00 target price on Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 3,200 shares of Vir Biotechnology 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 transaction, the director directly owned 21,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,491.20. This trade represents a 13.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 2nd quarter worth $210,712,000. ARCH Venture Management LLC bought a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter worth $129,353,521,000. GSK plc purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,562,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,229,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,564,000 after buying an additional 988,262 shares during the period. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the first quarter valued at about $24,593,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Up 2.7%

NASDAQ:VIR opened at $9.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.97 and a beta of 1.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $9.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.12. Vir Biotechnology has a twelve month low of $4.25 and a twelve month high of $11.66.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $238.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.88 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 29.99% and a negative net margin of 638.88%.Vir Biotechnology’s revenue was up 19582.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.80) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology will post -1.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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.