Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Cuts Stake in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its stake in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 63,235 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,083 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Vir Biotechnology were worth $563,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VIR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,375,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,362,000 after purchasing an additional 78,216 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 0.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 813,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after buying an additional 6,359 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 753,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,576,000 after buying an additional 31,405 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 8.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 458,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,640,000 after buying an additional 34,640 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 5.7% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 310,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,141,000 after acquiring an additional 16,615 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 12,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total value of $95,082.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,604.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

Shares of Vir Biotechnology stock opened at $7.76 on Friday. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.41 and a 1-year high of $13.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of -1.94 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.81 and a 200-day moving average of $9.39.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.13). Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 30.93% and a negative net margin of 612.40%. The business had revenue of $3.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.45) earnings per share. Vir Biotechnology’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VIR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.80.

About Vir Biotechnology

Vir Biotechnology, Inc, a commercial-stage immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. It offers tobevibart + elebsiran for the treatment of chronic hepatitis delta; elebsiran + PEG-IFN-a, tobevibart ± elebsiran ± PEG-IFN-a, and elebsiran+ TLR8+PD-1 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B; VIR-1388 and Cure mAb combination for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus; VIR-8190 for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus / human metapneumovirus; VIR-2981 for the treatment of influenza; VIR-1949 for the treatment of pre-cancerous HPV lesions; and VIR07229 and Sotrovimab for the treatment of COVID-19 infection under the Xevudy brand.