Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $14.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Vir Biotechnology traded as high as $14.45 and last traded at $12.48, with a volume of 39456292 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.89.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.80.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $137,219.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,431,135.32. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,786 shares of company stock valued at $170,172. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,134,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,496,000 after acquiring an additional 136,087 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,625,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,135,000 after acquiring an additional 530,645 shares during the period. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,780,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 180.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 19,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 12,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Vir Biotechnology by 94.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,248,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,108,000 after acquiring an additional 606,804 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.36.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.51). Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 678.40% and a negative return on equity of 36.71%. The company had revenue of $2.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.22) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).