Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.76) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.09, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $12.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.14 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Down 5.4 %

Shares of VIR stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $8.70. 609,468 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,479,037. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.21 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.50. Vir Biotechnology has a 1-year low of $6.56 and a 1-year high of $14.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $137,219.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,431,135.32. This represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total value of $107,556.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 708,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,948,373.95. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,562 shares of company stock valued at $259,693 over the last quarter. 15.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on VIR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.83.

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).