Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. $VIR

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,548,944 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250,437 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Vir Biotechnology worth $75,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 153.8% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,646 shares in the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Brent Sabatini sold 7,711 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.12, for a total transaction of $70,324.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 61,902 shares in the company, valued at $564,546.24. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,559 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.16, for a total transaction of $664,640.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 948,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,685,008.20. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Insiders sold a total of 256,286 shares of company stock valued at $2,365,780 in the last quarter. 16.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VIR shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vir Biotechnology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Leerink Partners reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.25.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Down 2.6%

VIR stock opened at $9.09 on Friday. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.16 and a 12 month high of $11.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of -2.90 and a beta of 1.70.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.85) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.84). Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 53.31% and a negative net margin of 638.88%.The firm had revenue of ($0.03) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.88) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -2.05 EPS for the current year.

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

Vir Biotechnology, Inc is a clinical‐stage immunology company dedicated to developing therapies that prevent and treat serious infectious diseases. The company leverages a suite of proprietary technology platforms—ranging from antibody isolation and screening tools to cell‐based assays and bioinformatics—to identify and advance antiviral and antibacterial candidates. Its scientific approach centers on harnessing the human immune system through monoclonal antibodies and immunomodulatory agents.

The company’s pipeline includes product candidates targeting influenza A, COVID‐19, HIV, hepatitis B, and tuberculosis.