Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Earns “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 126.46% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

Shares of VIR opened at $8.39 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 0.63. Vir Biotechnology has a 52 week low of $6.56 and a 52 week high of $14.45.

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

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other 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 sale, the director now directly owns 708,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,948,373.95. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total transaction of $67,389.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,460 shares in the company, valued at $726,264.40. This trade represents a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,935 shares of company stock valued at $327,082. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 143.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 5,177 shares during 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).