Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Price Target Cut to $26.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Barclays from $28.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price target suggests a potential upside of 177.48% from the company's previous close.

VIR has been the topic of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

Shares of VIR stock traded up $0.11 on Monday, reaching $9.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,548,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,024,456. Vir Biotechnology has a 1 year low of $7.12 and a 1 year high of $13.09. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.87.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 35.00% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. Vir Biotechnology's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.22) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 12,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total transaction of $95,082.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,604.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 15.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,375,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,362,000 after acquiring an additional 78,216 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company's stock worth $11,108,000 after purchasing an additional 606,804 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 813,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,238,000 after acquiring an additional 6,359 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 10.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 637,486 shares of the company's stock worth $5,673,000 after purchasing an additional 58,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Vir Biotechnology by 8.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 458,044 shares of the company's stock worth $4,640,000 after acquiring an additional 34,640 shares during the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).