Insider Selling: Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Director Sells $199,540.00 in Stock

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Director Vicki Sato sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.07, for a total value of $199,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,100,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,980,546.37. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VIR opened at $9.06 on Friday. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.16 and a 52 week high of $10.94. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $8.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.85. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.87 and a beta of 1.66.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 638.88% and a negative return on equity of 49.31%. The company had revenue of $64.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.76) EPS. Vir Biotechnology’s revenue for the quarter was up 417.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VIR. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company 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 report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.44.

Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARCH Venture Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 2nd quarter worth about $65,100,000. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 51.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,526,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,715,000 after purchasing an additional 519,374 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 911,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,207,000 after purchasing an additional 215,882 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 2nd quarter worth about $491,000. Finally, Jain Global LLC purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter worth approximately $105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

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.