Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on VIR. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.89.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of VIR opened at $9.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of -2.96 and a beta of 1.69. Vir Biotechnology has a 12 month low of $4.16 and a 12 month high of $10.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.13.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.11. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 49.31% and a negative net margin of 638.88%.The company had revenue of $64.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.76) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 417.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 14,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.53, for a total value of $140,681.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,020,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,727,309.12. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 13,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.82, for a total value of $134,534.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 112,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,483.24. This trade represents a 10.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 155,546 shares of company stock valued at $1,312,954. 16.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ARCH Venture Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter valued at approximately $65,100,000. GSK plc acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter valued at $51,562,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter valued at $8,252,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,229,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,564,000 after acquiring an additional 988,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Vir Biotechnology by 129.2% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,396,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,974,000 after acquiring an additional 787,212 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

About Vir Biotechnology

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.