Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR – Get Rating)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $25.81, but opened at $24.20. Vir Biotechnology shares last traded at $22.61, with a volume of 532,111 shares changing hands.

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The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.72). The company had revenue of $49.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.24 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 93.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on VIR shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, January 27th. SVB Leerink cut their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Vir Biotechnology from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, major shareholder Endurance (Cayman) Ltd Svf sold 68,786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $2,091,094.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,976,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $576,878,851.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Charles Elliott Sigal purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.96 per share, with a total value of $62,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,200. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Endurance (Cayman) Ltd Svf sold 68,786 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $2,091,094.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,976,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $576,878,851.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,708,809 shares of company stock worth $46,611,897 in the last ninety days. 22.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIR. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in Vir Biotechnology by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 25,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 52,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 85,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 0.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 105,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 74.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.93.

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

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Vir Biotechnology, Inc, a commercial-stage immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. It develops Sotrovimab (VIR-7832), a SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing mAbs to treat and prevent COVID-19 infection under the Xevudy brand; VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 for the treatment of hepatitis B virus; VIR-2482 for the prevention of influenza A virus; and VIR-1111 for the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus.

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