Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Receives $33.57 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.57.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VIR. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 9th.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Down 2.0 %

VIR stock opened at $5.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $6.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $825.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.53 and a beta of 1.14. Vir Biotechnology has a 12-month low of $4.95 and a 12-month high of $14.45.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $12.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.14 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 678.40% and a negative return on equity of 36.71%. Equities analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In related news, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $107,556.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 708,295 shares in the company, valued at $6,948,373.95. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 79,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $474,286.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 769,505 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,554.75. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 99,611 shares of company stock worth $663,525. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 39,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 236,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 26,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 398,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,927,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).