Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have $20.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $10.00.

VIR has been the topic of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.80.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of VIR opened at $12.10 on Thursday. Vir Biotechnology has a 12-month low of $6.56 and a 12-month high of $14.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.36.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $2.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.22) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $137,219.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,431,135.32. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,786 shares of company stock worth $170,172. 15.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 1.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 550,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,121,000 after acquiring an additional 7,287 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,135,000 after purchasing an additional 530,645 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 901.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 15,303 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 350,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,623,000 after purchasing an additional 33,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. 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).