Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Raised to Buy at Bank of America

Key Points

• Vir Biotechnology has been upgraded from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating by Bank of America, along with a price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 215.32%.
• Needham & Company and Raymond James Financial have also issued positive ratings, contributing to an overall consensus of a "Moderate Buy" with a price target averaging $28.44.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a 60.5% decline in revenue year-over-year, reporting an EPS of ($0.80), which missed estimates.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $14.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $12.00. Bank of America's price target suggests a potential upside of 183.40% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VIR. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, July 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.44.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Down 2.0%

VIR stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.94. 1,676,623 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,541,118. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.85. Vir Biotechnology has a 1 year low of $4.16 and a 1 year high of $14.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $686.25 million, a P/E ratio of -1.24 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total transaction of $112,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,298,391 shares in the company, valued at $6,621,794.10. The trade was a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Eisner sold 6,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $591,875.88. This represents a 5.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,382 shares of company stock valued at $278,770 over the last 90 days. 16.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIR. ARCH Venture Management LLC acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter valued at $65,100,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the fourth quarter valued at $7,961,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position 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 valued at $6,228,000 after purchasing an additional 843,239 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,915,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,059,000 after purchasing an additional 703,360 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,715,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,589,000 after purchasing an additional 610,367 shares during the period. 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).