Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Now Covered by Evercore ISI

Key Points

• Evercore ISI has initiated coverage of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) with an "outperform" rating and a price target of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 127.70% from its current price.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings fell short of expectations, reporting ($0.80) earnings per share and a revenue drop of 60.5% year-over-year.
• Currently, 65.32% of Vir Biotechnology's stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.

Equities research analysts at Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI's price objective suggests a potential upside of 127.70% from the stock's current price.

VIR has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, July 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised Vir Biotechnology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.80.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 5.4%

VIR stock opened at $5.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.81. Vir Biotechnology has a 12-month low of $4.16 and a 12-month high of $14.45. The company has a market cap of $732.11 million, a PE ratio of -1.31 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark Eisner sold 6,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.47, for a total transaction of $37,174.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 108,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $591,875.88. This represents a 5.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.99, for a total value of $109,780.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,276,391 shares in the company, valued at $6,369,191.09. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,382 shares of company stock worth $278,770 over the last quarter. Insiders own 16.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 524.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 5,972 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 2,200.6% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,308 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 11,773 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).

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