Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. $VIR

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 134,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VIR. GSK plc purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter valued at $51,562,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake 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 period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at $8,252,000. 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 valued at $37,564,000 after buying an additional 988,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 129.2% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,396,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,974,000 after buying an additional 787,212 shares during the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

NASDAQ VIR traded down $0.38 on Friday, hitting $9.96. 1,676,702 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,208,320. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.61. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.16 and a fifty-two week high of $11.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.18 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total transaction of $221,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,078,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,837,829.55. This represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total transaction of $30,240.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,491.20. This trade represents a 13.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 25,579 shares of company stock valued at $254,922 in the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut Vir Biotechnology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.88.

Vir Biotechnology Profile

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.