Barclays Increases Price Target for Vir Biotechnology to $31

Analysts at Barclays recently raised their price target for Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) from $26.00 to $31.00 in a report released on Friday. The brokerage firm has assigned an "overweight" rating to the company's stock, indicating a positive outlook on its performance. Barclays's new target price suggests a significant potential upside of approximately 269.49% from the stock's closing price prior to this adjustment.

In addition to Barclays, several other research firms have also recently shared their views on Vir Biotechnology. For instance, HC Wainwright maintained a "buy" rating and set a price target of $110.00 for the company's shares. On January 9, Morgan Stanley upgraded their rating from "equal weight" to "overweight," raising their price objective from $10.00 to $20.00. Needham & Company reaffirmed a "buy" rating with a target price of $19.00, while Leerink Partners increased their price target from $18.00 to $20.00, giving the stock an "outperform" rating. Additionally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target from $10.00 to $14.00, rating the stock as "neutral." Overall, one research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, and five have issued buy ratings. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology currently enjoys an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and has an average price target of $35.67.

Performance Overview of Vir Biotechnology

During midday trading on Friday, shares of Vir Biotechnology saw a slight increase, with the stock trading up by $0.28 to reach a price of $8.39. The trading volume for the day was 1,422,825 shares, which is lower compared to the average volume of 2,495,305. The company has demonstrated a 50-day moving average price of $9.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.50. Over the past year, the stock has hit a low of $6.56 and a high of $14.45. Vir Biotechnology boasts a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of -2.14, and a beta of 0.63.

Recently, on February 26, Vir Biotechnology reported its quarterly earnings, revealing earnings of ($0.76) per share, which surpassed the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.09. The company reported revenue of $12.37 million for the quarter, exceeding analyst predictions of $8.14 million. However, Vir Biotechnology has a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of -678.40%. Analysts currently expect the company to post -3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Trading Activities

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato engaged in a stock sale, selling 10,960 shares of Vir Biotechnology on January 8. This sale was executed at an average price of $12.52, bringing the total transaction to $137,219.20. Following this sale, Sato retains ownership of 1,312,391 shares, which are valued at approximately $16,431,135.32. This sale represents a decrease of 0.83% in her ownership stake. Moreover, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares on February 18 for an average price of $9.81, totaling $107,556.84. After this transaction, Scangos holds 708,295 shares valued at about $6,948,373.95, reflecting a 1.52% decline in ownership. In the past 90 days, insiders have sold a total of 30,935 shares, valued at $327,082, with insiders currently holding 15.60% of the stock.

Institutional Investors and Trading Activity

Several institutional investors have been active in buying and selling shares of Vir Biotechnology. In the third quarter, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in the company by 143.5%, acquiring a total of 3,989 shares worth around $30,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000, while SBI Securities Co. Ltd. also entered a new position worth around $60,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings by 31.8% during the fourth quarter, now owning 8,288 shares worth around $61,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares. In total, 65.32% of the company's stock is held by hedge funds and institutional investors.

About Vir Biotechnology

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. is an immunology-focused company dedicated to developing therapeutic products aimed at treating and preventing serious infectious diseases. Its clinical development pipeline includes product candidates for hepatitis delta virus (HDV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The company also has preclinical candidates in development targeting various diseases including influenza A and B, coronavirus disease 2019, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (MPV), and human papillomavirus (HPV).

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