Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $6.07, but opened at $5.80. Vir Biotechnology shares last traded at $5.7750, with a volume of 451,026 shares.

Specifically, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.00, for a total transaction of $132,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,188,391 shares in the company, valued at $7,130,346. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Endurance (Cayman) Ltd Svf sold 61,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.44, for a total transaction of $396,014.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 13,920,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,649,810.32. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In related news, major shareholder Endurance (Cayman) Ltd Svf sold 127,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.39, for a total value of $817,523.82. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,982,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,346,711.69. This trade represents a 0.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VIR. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Bank of America upgraded Vir Biotechnology from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $12.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.30.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $783.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.56 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.33.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $0.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a negative net margin of 2,963.54%.Vir Biotechnology’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.56) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VIR. Connective Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the 3rd quarter worth about $431,000. Sender Co & Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the third quarter valued at about $247,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $817,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the 3rd quarter valued at $799,000. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the third quarter valued at about $108,000. Institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

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).