Key Points
- CFO Jason O'Byrne sold 6,799 shares on November 17 at an average price of $5.56 for $37,802, reducing his stake by 5.79% to 110,701 shares (worth about $615,498).
- The company posted a sizable quarterly EPS miss — ($1.17) vs. consensus ($0.70) — with only $0.24M in revenue, a negative ROE of 50.76% and an extremely negative net margin.
- Despite weak results, analysts are largely bullish (nine Buys, average target $17.30) and institutional investors own 65.32% of the stock, with several funds recently increasing positions.
Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) CFO Jason O'byrne sold 6,799 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.56, for a total value of $37,802.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 110,701 shares in the company, valued at $615,497.56. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.
Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance
Shares of VIR opened at $5.50 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $5.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.27. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.16 and a 1 year high of $14.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $765.19 million, a P/E ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 1.27.
Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $0.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a negative net margin of 2,963.54%.The business's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.56) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
VIR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Vir Biotechnology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.30.
Read Our Latest Research Report on VIR
Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. ARCH Venture Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter valued at $65,100,000. Orbimed Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,380,715 shares of the company's stock worth $11,999,000 after acquiring an additional 132,466 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,526,265 shares of the company's stock worth $8,715,000 after acquiring an additional 519,374 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 129.2% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,396,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,974,000 after acquiring an additional 787,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,374,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,909,000 after purchasing an additional 122,219 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Vir Biotechnology
(
Get Free Report)
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).
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