Vir Biotechnology’s (VIR) Buy Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright restated their buy rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $110.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Vir Biotechnology’s FY2024 earnings at ($0.37) EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on VIR. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

Vir Biotechnology stock opened at $7.12 on Wednesday. Vir Biotechnology has a one year low of $6.56 and a one year high of $13.09. The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.91 and its 200 day moving average is $8.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $980.57 million, a PE ratio of -1.82 and a beta of 0.46.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.22) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 12,190 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,604.80. This represents a 51.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 15,940 shares of company stock valued at $127,410 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,108,000 after buying an additional 606,804 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,135,000 after acquiring an additional 530,645 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 19,327.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 300,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,671,000 after acquiring an additional 298,603 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 2nd quarter worth $1,780,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 6,402.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 188,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,679,000 after purchasing an additional 185,723 shares during 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).