Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,776 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,507 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vir Biotechnology were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VIR. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 5,177 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter worth about $74,000. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 3rd quarter worth about $118,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 901.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 15,303 shares during the last quarter. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total value of $107,556.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 708,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,948,373.95. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $137,219.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,312,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,431,135.32. The trade was a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,859 shares of company stock worth $326,458 in the last three months. 15.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on VIR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, January 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Up 0.9 %

VIR stock opened at $6.93 on Friday. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.56 and a 52-week high of $14.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $9.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.38. The company has a market capitalization of $950.40 million, a PE ratio of -1.77 and a beta of 1.17.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $12.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.14 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

Vir Biotechnology 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).