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

Key Points

• HC Wainwright has reiterated a buy rating for Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) with a price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 212.17% from its current trading price.
• Analysts' consensus rating for Vir Biotechnology is "Moderate Buy," with a target price averaging $17.30 across multiple analysts, indicating strong market interest.
• The company recently reported a loss of $0.80 EPS for the last quarter, which was below consensus estimates, alongside a significant decrease in revenue year-over-year.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $15.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright's price target would indicate a potential upside of 212.17% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, July 11th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $12.00 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.30.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VIR traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $4.81. The company had a trading volume of 918,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,570,018. Vir Biotechnology has a twelve month low of $4.16 and a twelve month high of $14.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $667.51 million, a PE ratio of -1.20 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's 50 day moving average is $5.07 and its 200-day moving average is $5.55.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 50.22% and a negative net margin of 2,895.94%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 60.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.02) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, EVP Mark Eisner sold 6,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.47, for a total transaction of $37,174.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 108,204 shares in the company, valued at $591,875.88. This represents a 5.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total transaction of $112,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,298,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,621,794.10. The trade was a 1.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 76,382 shares of company stock worth $388,550. 16.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. ARCH Venture Management LLC bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter worth $65,100,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 16,169.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 55.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 403.7% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 704,377 shares of the company's stock worth $3,677,000 after buying an additional 564,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 979.7% during the second quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 617,535 shares of the company's stock worth $3,112,000 after buying an additional 560,342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.32% of the company's stock.

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).

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