Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,860,000 shares, a growth of 20.0% from the December 31st total of 6,550,000 shares. Currently, 9.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,431,135.32. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,383 shares of company stock worth $160,070. 15.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 236,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 143.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 1.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 194,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 2,922 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 7.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 48,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 3,605 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VIR shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.83.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of VIR traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $10.40. 1,023,222 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,597,655. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.52. Vir Biotechnology has a 12 month low of $6.56 and a 12 month high of $14.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 0.51.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.22) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

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).