Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.09, Zacks reports. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. The firm had revenue of $12.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.14 million.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Down 11.8 %

NASDAQ:VIR opened at $8.11 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.63. Vir Biotechnology has a 12-month low of $6.56 and a 12-month high of $14.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VIR shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $107,556.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 708,295 shares in the company, valued at $6,948,373.95. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $137,219.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,431,135.32. This represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,935 shares of company stock valued at $327,082. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).