918,529 Shares in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) Purchased by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 918,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,742,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIR. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 81,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 15,696 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the 3rd quarter valued at $191,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Vir Biotechnology by 13.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,134,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,496,000 after buying an additional 136,087 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 77.2% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 31,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 13,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the third quarter valued at $138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

Shares of VIR stock opened at $6.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $918.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.71 and a beta of 1.17. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a one year low of $6.40 and a one year high of $14.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.35.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $12.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.14 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total value of $67,389.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 79,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $726,264.40. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $107,556.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 708,295 shares in the company, valued at $6,948,373.95. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,859 shares of company stock worth $326,458 in the last three months. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

Vir Biotechnology Company 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).