Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Trading Down 5.5% – Here’s What Happened

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) shares traded down 5.5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $5.11 and last traded at $5.11. 225,928 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 1,336,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VIR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.57.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Down 5.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $702.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.93.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by ($0.05). Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. The company had revenue of $3.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.48) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $107,556.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 708,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,948,373.95. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total transaction of $67,389.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $726,264.40. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,611 shares of company stock worth $663,525 over the last quarter. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIR. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,196,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,127,000 after acquiring an additional 7,827 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,915,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,059,000 after purchasing an additional 703,360 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,715,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,589,000 after purchasing an additional 610,367 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 9.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,374,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,909,000 after purchasing an additional 122,219 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,237,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,084,000 after purchasing an additional 55,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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).