Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on VIR. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 2.4 %

VIR opened at $7.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $980.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.82 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.86. Vir Biotechnology has a 12-month low of $6.56 and a 12-month high of $13.09.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.22) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 12,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total value of $95,082.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,604.80. This represents a 51.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 15,940 shares of company stock worth $127,410 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,375,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,362,000 after purchasing an additional 78,216 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,135,000 after buying an additional 530,645 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,108,000 after buying an additional 606,804 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 13.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,134,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,496,000 after buying an additional 136,087 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 0.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 813,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after buying an additional 6,359 shares during the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).