Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Makes New Investment in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 918,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,742,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.67% of Vir Biotechnology as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 5,177 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at $94,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

Vir Biotechnology Price Performance

NASDAQ:VIR opened at $6.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $918.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.71 and a beta of 1.17. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.40 and a 1-year high of $14.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.35.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $12.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.14 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 678.40% and a negative return on equity of 36.71%. As a group, analysts expect that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total transaction of $67,389.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $726,264.40. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction 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 $16,431,135.32. This represents a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,859 shares of company stock valued at $326,458. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

About Vir Biotechnology

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).