Swiss National Bank Sells 10,500 Shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)

Swiss National Bank cut its position in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Vir Biotechnology were worth $1,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 236,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,737,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew 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 worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 1.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 194,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 2,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 5,177 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total transaction of $67,389.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 79,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $726,264.40. This trade represents a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $137,219.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,431,135.32. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,859 shares of company stock worth $326,458 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VIR shares. Morgan Stanley raised Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, January 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of VIR stock opened at $6.70 on Friday. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.40 and a 12-month high of $14.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $8.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.35. The firm has a market cap of $918.86 million, a P/E ratio of -1.71 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

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).