AlphaQuest LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) by 79.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,962 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,493 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Vir Biotechnology were worth $51,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 5,177 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $118,000. 65.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total transaction of $67,389.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $726,264.40. The trade was a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total value of $107,556.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 708,295 shares in the company, valued at $6,948,373.95. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,859 shares of company stock worth $326,458 over the last three months. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy 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 $35.67.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of VIR stock opened at $6.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.25 and a 200 day moving average of $8.39. The stock has a market cap of $942.17 million, a P/E ratio of -1.75 and a beta of 1.17. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.56 and a twelve month high of $14.45.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $12.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.14 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. On average, research analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).