Vir Biotechnology Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:VIR)

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 6,929 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 933% compared to the average volume of 671 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VIR shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.40.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,108,000 after buying an additional 606,804 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,135,000 after purchasing an additional 530,645 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 19,327.1% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 300,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,671,000 after buying an additional 298,603 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter valued at $1,780,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 6,402.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 188,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,679,000 after buying an additional 185,723 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 68.6 %

Shares of VIR stock traded up $5.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.30. The stock had a trading volume of 20,390,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,689,551. Vir Biotechnology has a 1-year low of $6.56 and a 1-year high of $13.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.98 and its 200-day moving average is $8.28.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($0.51). Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 678.40% and a negative return on equity of 36.71%. The business had revenue of $2.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.22) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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).