Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Price Target Raised to $21.00

Key Points

• Leerink Partners raised its price target on Vir Biotechnology from $20 to $21 and kept an outperform rating, implying substantial upside from the prior close.
• The stock traded up about 1.4% to $8.86, while analyst sentiment remains generally positive with an average Moderate Buy rating and average target price of $20.38.
• Vir Biotechnology’s latest quarterly results were weak, with an EPS loss of $0.85 versus a much smaller expected loss and revenue far below estimates; insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by analysts at Leerink Partners from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Leerink Partners' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 137.02% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on VIR. Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price target on Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Vir Biotechnology from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.38.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Up 1.4%

VIR stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.86. 199,376 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,774,760. Vir Biotechnology has a 12-month low of $4.16 and a 12-month high of $11.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.83 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.96.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.84). The company had revenue of ($0.03) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.49 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 638.88% and a negative return on equity of 53.31%. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.88) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology will post -1.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 3,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total transaction of $30,240.00. Following the sale, the director owned 21,216 shares in the company, valued at $200,491.20. This represents a 13.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total value of $221,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,078,391 shares in the company, valued at $10,837,829.55. This represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 127,849 shares of company stock valued at $1,189,426 in the last three months. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avidity Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the first quarter valued at approximately $8,512,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 965,814 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,654,000 after purchasing an additional 34,906 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 47.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 54,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 17,732 shares during the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the 1st quarter valued at $24,593,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,315 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,294 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vir Biotechnology

Vir Biotechnology, Inc is a clinical‐stage immunology company dedicated to developing therapies that prevent and treat serious infectious diseases. The company leverages a suite of proprietary technology platforms—ranging from antibody isolation and screening tools to cell‐based assays and bioinformatics—to identify and advance antiviral and antibacterial candidates. Its scientific approach centers on harnessing the human immune system through monoclonal antibodies and immunomodulatory agents.

The company's pipeline includes product candidates targeting influenza A, COVID‐19, HIV, hepatitis B, and tuberculosis.

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