Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

VIR has been the subject of several other research reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $25.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed 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 issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.14.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

VIR opened at $11.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.75 and a beta of 1.70. Vir Biotechnology has a 52-week low of $4.82 and a 52-week high of $12.19. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.01 and its 200-day moving average is $9.58.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $0.98 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 178.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.17) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, EVP Vanina de Verneuil sold 2,407 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $26,717.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,142.30. The trade was a 2.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $210,712,000. ARCH Venture Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter valued at $129,353,521. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the first quarter valued at $24,593,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter valued at $11,642,000. Finally, Avidity Partners Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the first quarter worth $8,512,000. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Vir Biotechnology

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

• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target to $20 from $18 and reiterated a Buy rating. Zacks Research also upgraded VIR from Strong Sell to Hold, a less negative view. Analyst ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Vir reported a third-quarter loss of $0.57 per share, narrower than analysts’ expected loss of $0.75–$0.80 and the $1.17 loss a year earlier. The company also said its cash runway extends into the second half of 2028. Q3 results and corporate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Vir plans to present Phase 3 hepatitis delta data for elebsiran and tobevibart at AASLD’s 2026 meeting. The data could be a significant catalyst, but its effect on the stock will depend on the results. AASLD data presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue came in at negative $0.19 million, below analysts’ estimate of $0.98 million, and was down sharply year over year. The revenue shortfall may have overshadowed the narrower-than-expected loss. Q3 earnings coverage

About Vir Biotechnology

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.