Needham & Company LLC Issues Positive Forecast for Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Stock Price

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) had its price target boosted by Needham & Company LLC from $18.00 to $20.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 69.92% from the company’s current price.

VIR has been the subject of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vir Biotechnology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research cut Vir Biotechnology from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Monday, September 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.14.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

NASDAQ:VIR opened at $11.77 on Thursday. Vir Biotechnology has a 1 year low of $4.82 and a 1 year high of $12.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.56. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.33 and a beta of 1.70.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.57) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.75) by $0.18. The company had revenue of ($0.19) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.98 million. Vir Biotechnology’s quarterly revenue was down 178.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.17) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vanina de Verneuil sold 2,407 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $26,717.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 110,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,142.30. This represents a 2.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 4.1% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 28,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $97,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 24,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter valued at $438,000. 65.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Vir Biotechnology News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vir Biotechnology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vir said it expects topline results from its ECLIPSE-1 hepatitis delta trial this quarter and highlighted additional oncology catalysts. The company also projects its cash runway into the second half of 2028, easing near-term financing concerns. Cash runway and ECLIPSE-1 update
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 loss narrowed to $0.57 per share, better than estimates of about $0.75–$0.80 and the $1.17 loss a year earlier. The earnings beat and improved year-over-year loss may support investor sentiment. Q3 results and corporate update
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Vanina de Verneuil sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. The sales were relatively small, and the stated purpose makes them a limited signal about management’s view of the business. Insider transaction details
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue was negative $0.19 million, below analysts’ $0.98 million estimate and down 178.3% year over year, tempering the earnings beat. Q3 earnings coverage

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

Vir Biotechnology, Inc is a clinical-stage immunology company focused on developing medicines to prevent and treat serious infectious diseases and other immune-related conditions. The company uses antibody engineering, immunologic approaches and other technologies to identify and advance therapies designed to harness or modify the immune system.

Vir’s research and development programs have included treatments and vaccines for hepatitis B, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), influenza and other infectious diseases.