Analysts Set Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Target Price at $20.88

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.8750.

VIR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, April 10th. Leerink Partners upped their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Vir Biotechnology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

NASDAQ VIR opened at $10.03 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of -3.20 and a beta of 1.65. Vir Biotechnology has a fifty-two week low of $4.16 and a fifty-two week high of $11.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.36.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share 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 return on equity of 53.31% and a negative net margin of 638.88%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.88) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total transaction of $30,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,491.20. This represents a 13.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.07, for a total value of $199,540.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,100,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,980,546.37. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 120,138 shares of company stock worth $1,119,102. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. GSK plc purchased a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,562,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $24,593,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10,878.9% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,480,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467,340 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,252,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,229,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,564,000 after acquiring an additional 988,262 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

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.