Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

VIR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Vir Biotechnology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.14.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

Shares of VIR stock opened at $12.21 on Friday. Vir Biotechnology has a 12 month low of $4.82 and a 12 month high of $12.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.61. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of -9.69 and a beta of 1.70.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.57) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.75) by $0.18. The firm had revenue of ($0.19) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.17) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 178.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, EVP Vanina de Verneuil sold 2,407 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $26,717.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 110,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,142.30. This represents a 2.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the 1st quarter worth approximately $112,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 5,294 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 223.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 10,603 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Vir Biotechnology

Here are the key news stories impacting Vir Biotechnology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved: Needham raised its price target to $20 from $18 and maintained a Buy rating. Zacks Research also upgraded VIR from Strong Sell to Hold, reducing a bearish signal. Needham rating Zacks rating
• Positive Sentiment: Key clinical catalyst ahead: Vir plans to present topline Phase 3 ECLIPSE 1 results for elebsiran and tobevibart in chronic hepatitis delta at AASLD’s 2026 liver meeting. Positive data could be a meaningful catalyst, though the outcome is uncertain. AASLD data presentation
• Positive Sentiment: Cash runway extends into the second half of 2028, giving the company additional time to advance its pipeline and reach development milestones. Cash runway update
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 loss beat expectations: Vir reported a loss of $0.57 per share, narrower than analysts’ expected loss of about $0.75–$0.80 and the $1.17 loss a year earlier. Q3 results
• Neutral Sentiment: An executive sold a small number of shares under a pre-arranged plan to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards; the stated purpose makes this less indicative of a change in outlook. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed sharply: Q3 revenue was negative $0.19 million versus analysts’ estimate of $0.98 million, and was down 178.3% year over year, tempering the earnings beat. Revenue results

About Vir Biotechnology

Vir Biotechnology, Inc is a clinical-stage immunology company focused on developing medicines to prevent and treat serious infectious diseases and other immune-related conditions. The company uses antibody engineering, immunologic approaches and other technologies to identify and advance therapies designed to harness or modify the immune system.

Vir’s research and development programs have included treatments and vaccines for hepatitis B, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), influenza and other infectious diseases.