Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $20.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $10.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 60.26% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.80.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 58.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIR opened at $12.48 on Thursday. Vir Biotechnology has a 12-month low of $6.56 and a 12-month high of $14.45. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of -3.18 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.31.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.38 million for 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%. Vir Biotechnology’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.22) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $137,219.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,312,391 shares in the company, valued at $16,431,135.32. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,786 shares of company stock worth $170,172. Insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,108,000 after purchasing an additional 606,804 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,135,000 after acquiring an additional 530,645 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 19,327.1% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 300,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,671,000 after acquiring an additional 298,603 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter worth $1,780,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $1,679,000 after purchasing an additional 185,723 shares during the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

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).