Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VIR shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays dropped their price target 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, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.18 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $137,219.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,312,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,431,135.32. The trade was a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,786 shares of company stock worth $170,172. 15.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VIR. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 1.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 550,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,121,000 after acquiring an additional 7,287 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 901.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 15,303 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 350,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,623,000 after buying an additional 33,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

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).