Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. $VIR

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) by 21.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 547,753 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 97,158 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.34% of Vir Biotechnology worth $4,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSK plc acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,562,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,229,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,564,000 after buying an additional 988,262 shares during the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 5.9% in the second quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,380,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,999,000 after buying an additional 132,466 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,328,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,041,000 after buying an additional 81,985 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,568,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,460,000 after buying an additional 47,102 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on VIR. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Vir Biotechnology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vir Biotechnology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total value of $221,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,078,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,837,829.55. The trade was a 2.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Janet Napolitano sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total value of $30,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,216 shares in the company, valued at $200,491.20. The trade was a 13.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,579 shares of company stock worth $254,922. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ VIR opened at $8.85 on Wednesday. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.16 and a 12 month high of $11.66. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.83 and a beta of 1.62.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.84). Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 53.31% and a negative net margin of 638.88%.The business had revenue of ($0.03) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.88) EPS. Analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -1.81 EPS for the current year.

About Vir Biotechnology

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.