Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Price Target Lowered to $21.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) had its price target decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $28.00 to $21.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.57.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ VIR opened at $5.50 on Thursday. Vir Biotechnology has a 12 month low of $4.95 and a 12 month high of $14.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $754.29 million, a P/E ratio of -1.40 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.11.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.09. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. The firm had revenue of $12.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.14 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total value of $67,389.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,460 shares in the company, valued at $726,264.40. The trade was a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 79,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $474,286.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 769,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,554.75. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,611 shares of company stock worth $663,525 over the last three months. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 524.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 5,972 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 5,177 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

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).