HC Wainwright Reiterates "Buy" Rating for Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)

HC Wainwright reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

Shares of VIR stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $9.37. 1,548,192 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,024,456. Vir Biotechnology has a fifty-two week low of $7.12 and a fifty-two week high of $13.09. The stock's fifty day moving average is $7.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.87. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 0.46.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $2.38 million during 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 35.00%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.22) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 directly owns 11,616 shares in the company, valued at $90,604.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 143.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 2nd quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 142.1% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 7,452 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is owned by 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).