Vir Biotechnology’s (VIR) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $19.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 174.17% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Down 1.4 %

Vir Biotechnology stock opened at $6.93 on Wednesday. Vir Biotechnology has a 12-month low of $6.86 and a 12-month high of $13.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $954.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.77 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $7.97 and a 200 day moving average of $8.92.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($0.51). Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. The business had revenue of $2.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.22) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 12,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total transaction of $95,082.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,616 shares in the company, valued at $90,604.80. The trade was a 51.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,940 shares of company stock valued at $127,410. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,375,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,362,000 after buying an additional 78,216 shares during the period. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,780,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 8.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 180.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 19,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 12,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,108,000 after purchasing an additional 606,804 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vir Biotechnology

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).