Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 173.38% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on VIR. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 3.1 %

NASDAQ VIR opened at $6.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.89. Vir Biotechnology has a 1 year low of $6.56 and a 1 year high of $13.09. The company has a market cap of $957.15 million, a PE ratio of -1.77 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.54 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.22) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 12,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total value of $95,082.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,604.80. This represents a 51.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,940 shares of company stock worth $127,410. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,375,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,362,000 after buying an additional 78,216 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,135,000 after acquiring an additional 530,645 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,108,000 after purchasing an additional 606,804 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 13.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,134,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,496,000 after acquiring an additional 136,087 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 813,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 6,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

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).