Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Barclays from $26.00 to $31.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 269.49% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Thursday. Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

Shares of VIR stock opened at $8.39 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.49. Vir Biotechnology has a 1 year low of $6.56 and a 1 year high of $14.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vir Biotechnology news, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total transaction of $67,389.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,460 shares in the company, valued at $726,264.40. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $137,219.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,431,135.32. The trade was a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,935 shares of company stock worth $327,082. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 buying an additional 530,645 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,196,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,127,000 after acquiring an additional 7,827 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,915,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,059,000 after acquiring an additional 703,360 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,715,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,589,000 after acquiring an additional 610,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,194,000 after acquiring an additional 118,379 shares during 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).