Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Director Sells $221,100.00 in Stock

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Director Vicki Sato sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total transaction of $221,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,078,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,837,829.55. The trade was a 2.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ VIR traded up $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $10.09. 511,581 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,060,545. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of -3.19 and a beta of 1.70. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.16 and a 52-week high of $11.66.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $64.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.91 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 638.88% and a negative return on equity of 49.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 417.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.76) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -1.97 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vir Biotechnology

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 19.2% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 27,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 4,493 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 1,320.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 24,471 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 10.1% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 1,135,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,176,000 after purchasing an additional 104,100 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 18.9% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 25,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Leerink Partners reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.38.

About Vir Biotechnology

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.