Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Stock Price Down 3.8% – Time to Sell?

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)’s share price traded down 3.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $10.81 and last traded at $10.78. 201,759 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 4,411,654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.83.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.40 and a 200 day moving average of $8.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of -2.78 and a beta of 0.51.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.51). Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 678.40% and a negative return on equity of 36.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.22) earnings per share. Vir Biotechnology’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $137,219.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,431,135.32. This represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,786 shares of company stock worth $170,172. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIR. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 143.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 5,177 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter worth $95,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter valued at $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

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).