Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Stock Price

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Barclays from $28.00 to $26.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 169.71% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on VIR. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, November 1st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:VIR opened at $9.64 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $7.77 and its 200-day moving average is $8.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.46 and a beta of 0.46. Vir Biotechnology has a 1-year low of $7.12 and a 1-year high of $13.09.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $2.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.22) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.26 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 12,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total transaction of $95,082.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,616 shares in the company, valued at $90,604.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,940 shares of company stock worth $127,410. 15.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 143.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter worth about $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter worth about $56,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the 2nd quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 142.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 7,452 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is owned by 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).