Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Price Target Raised to $31.00

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Barclays from $26.00 to $31.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 269.49% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Thursday. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.67.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ VIR traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.39. 1,422,825 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,495,305. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 0.63. Vir Biotechnology has a 52 week low of $6.56 and a 52 week high of $14.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.50.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $12.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.14 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,431,135.32. This represents a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total transaction of $67,389.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 79,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $726,264.40. This trade represents a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,935 shares of company stock valued at $327,082 in the last three months. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baker BROS. Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,961,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,742,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 16,169.5% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 848,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,228,000 after buying an additional 843,239 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,915,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,059,000 after purchasing an additional 703,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,715,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,589,000 after purchasing an additional 610,367 shares during the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is 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).