Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Short Interest Update

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,110,000 shares, an increase of 28.3% from the March 15th total of 7,880,000 shares. Currently, 11.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Vir Biotechnology from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.57.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Up 2.4 %

VIR traded up $0.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $6.12. 221,987 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,335,362. The company has a market capitalization of $838.63 million, a P/E ratio of -1.56 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.07. Vir Biotechnology has a fifty-two week low of $4.95 and a fifty-two week high of $14.45.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.09. The firm 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, 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 79,712 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total value of $474,286.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 769,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,578,554.75. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total value of $67,389.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 79,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at $726,264.40. The trade was a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 99,611 shares of company stock worth $663,525. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIR. State Street Corp boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company's stock worth $42,135,000 after purchasing an additional 530,645 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 550,186 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,287 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 5,177 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 2,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the fourth quarter valued at $2,666,000. 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).