Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Earns “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $110.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Vir Biotechnology’s Q1 2026 earnings at ($0.80) EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.80) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.81) EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.77) EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on VIR. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

Vir Biotechnology stock opened at $8.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 0.63. Vir Biotechnology has a 52-week low of $6.56 and a 52-week high of $14.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.49.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.09. The firm 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $107,556.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 708,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,948,373.95. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $137,219.20. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,935 shares of company stock valued at $327,082. 15.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIR. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 39,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 236,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,999 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 143.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 26,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).