Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Stock Price Up 6.3% – What’s Next?

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)’s share price shot up 6.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $11.23 and last traded at $11.19. 759,002 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 4,620,427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VIR. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.83.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of -2.71 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.47.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $2.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 678.40% and a negative return on equity of 36.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.22) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,431,135.32. The trade was a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 14,786 shares of company stock valued at $170,172 over the last three months. 15.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 143.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 1.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 194,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,922 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 7.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 48,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 3,605 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 5,177 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).