Vir Biotechnology's (VIR) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective suggests a potential upside of 44.37% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.63.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 13.2 %

Shares of VIR traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.39. 1,690,966 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,050,141. Vir Biotechnology has a 1 year low of $7.61 and a 1 year high of $27.48. The firm's fifty day moving average is $9.82 and its 200-day moving average is $9.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.26 and a beta of 0.47.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.51. The business had revenue of $56.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.71 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 34.92% and a negative net margin of 713.69%. The company's revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.06) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -4.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In related news, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,995 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total value of $690,532.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 678,457 shares in the company, valued at $6,418,203.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Ann M. Hanly sold 2,711 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total value of $27,245.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 132,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,327,293.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,995 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total transaction of $690,532.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 678,457 shares in the company, valued at $6,418,203.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 152,831 shares of company stock valued at $1,525,844. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 1,975.0% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 207,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,944,000 after acquiring an additional 197,500 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 124.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 412,161 shares of the company's stock worth $3,863,000 after acquiring an additional 228,634 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 582.9% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 162,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 138,387 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,098,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,200,666 shares of the company's stock worth $104,950,000 after buying an additional 960,302 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vir Biotechnology

Vir Biotechnology, Inc, a commercial-stage immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. It offers tobevibart + elebsiran for the treatment of chronic hepatitis delta; elebsiran + PEG-IFN-a, tobevibart ± elebsiran ± PEG-IFN-a, and elebsiran+ TLR8+PD-1 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B; VIR-1388 and Cure mAb combination for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus; VIR-8190 for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus / human metapneumovirus; VIR-2981 for the treatment of influenza; VIR-1949 for the treatment of pre-cancerous HPV lesions; and VIR07229 and Sotrovimab for the treatment of COVID-19 infection under the Xevudy brand.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.