Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Buy Rating for Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $19.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley raised Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.83.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

VIR stock opened at $8.11 on Thursday. Vir Biotechnology has a 1 year low of $6.56 and a 1 year high of $14.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.63.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.09. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. The firm had revenue of $12.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.14 million. On average, research analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total transaction of $67,389.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,460 shares in the company, valued at $726,264.40. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total value of $107,556.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 708,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,948,373.95. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,935 shares of company stock worth $327,082 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 143.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in 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. 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).