HC Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating for Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at HC Wainwright in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 price objective on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays cut their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VIR opened at $9.64 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.88. Vir Biotechnology has a 12-month low of $7.12 and a 12-month high of $13.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.46 and a beta of 0.46.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($0.51). Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. The company had revenue of $2.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.22) EPS. Vir Biotechnology’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total transaction of $95,082.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,604.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,940 shares of company stock valued at $127,410. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,375,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,362,000 after purchasing an additional 78,216 shares during the period. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter worth about $1,780,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 8.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 180.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 19,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 12,598 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 458,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,640,000 after purchasing an additional 34,640 shares in 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).