Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) saw a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,860,000 shares, a growth of 20.0% from the December 31st total of 6,550,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 9.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.83.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 0.9 %

Vir Biotechnology stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.40. 1,023,222 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,597,655. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.52. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 0.51. Vir Biotechnology has a twelve month low of $6.56 and a twelve month high of $14.45.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.22) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $137,219.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares in the company, valued at $16,431,135.32. This represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 13,383 shares of company stock worth $160,070 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIR. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Vir Biotechnology by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,134,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,496,000 after acquiring an additional 136,087 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,135,000 after purchasing an additional 530,645 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,108,000 after buying an additional 606,804 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $191,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,485,000. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by 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).