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

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 106.52% from the stock’s current price.

VIR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.83.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

Shares of Vir Biotechnology stock opened at $9.20 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.42 and a 200-day moving average of $8.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -2.35 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In related news, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total value of $107,556.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 708,295 shares in the company, valued at $6,948,373.95. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $137,219.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares in the company, valued at $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 three months, insiders have sold 23,562 shares of company stock worth $259,693. 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 VIR. Baker BROS. Advisors LP bought a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,961,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,742,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 16,169.5% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 848,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,228,000 after buying an additional 843,239 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,915,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,059,000 after buying an additional 703,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,715,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,589,000 after buying an additional 610,367 shares in the last quarter. 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).