Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VIR. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.40.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Up 58.2 %

The firm’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 P/E ratio of -3.18 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $137,219.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,431,135.32. The trade was a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 14,786 shares of company stock valued at $170,172 in the last three months. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 530,645 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 606,804 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 13.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,134,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,496,000 after buying an additional 136,087 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 813,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after buying an additional 6,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Vir Biotechnology by 10.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 637,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,673,000 after buying an additional 58,360 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).