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

Shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.63.

VIR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In related news, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,995 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total value of $690,532.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 678,457 shares in the company, valued at $6,418,203.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,995 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total transaction of $690,532.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 678,457 shares in the company, valued at $6,418,203.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Hanly sold 2,711 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total transaction of $27,245.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 132,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,327,293.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 152,831 shares of company stock valued at $1,525,844. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VIR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,297,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,473 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter worth approximately $4,214,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 412,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,863,000 after acquiring an additional 228,634 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Vir Biotechnology by 68.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 525,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,922,000 after purchasing an additional 213,477 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 41.0% during the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 708,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,636,000 after buying an additional 205,913 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

Shares of VIR opened at $10.39 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $9.82 and its 200-day moving average is $9.59. Vir Biotechnology has a fifty-two week low of $7.61 and a fifty-two week high of $27.48. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.26 and a beta of 0.47.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.51. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 34.92% and a negative net margin of 713.69%. The firm had revenue of $56.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology will post -4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

Vir Biotechnology, Inc, a commercial-stage immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. It offers tobevibart + elebsiran for the treatment of chronic hepatitis delta; elebsiran + PEG-IFN-a, tobevibart ± elebsiran ± PEG-IFN-a, and elebsiran+ TLR8+PD-1 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B; VIR-1388 and Cure mAb combination for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus; VIR-8190 for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus / human metapneumovirus; VIR-2981 for the treatment of influenza; VIR-1949 for the treatment of pre-cancerous HPV lesions; and VIR07229 and Sotrovimab for the treatment of COVID-19 infection under the Xevudy brand.