Insider Selling: Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) Director Sells 3,200 Shares of Stock

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Director Janet Napolitano sold 3,200 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total value of $30,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,491.20. This represents a 13.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:VIR traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $8.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,411,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,800,216. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.16 and a 1 year high of $11.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.96.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.85) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.84). The business had revenue of ($0.03) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.49 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 638.88% and a negative return on equity of 53.31%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.88) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VIR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, April 10th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Vir Biotechnology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VIR. GSK plc purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,562,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the first quarter valued at about $24,593,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 10,878.9% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,480,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467,340 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,252,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,229,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,564,000 after purchasing an additional 988,262 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

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.