Barclays PLC Trims Stock Position in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)

Barclays PLC lowered its position in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR - Free Report) by 59.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 221,178 shares of the company's stock after selling 329,008 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.16% of Vir Biotechnology worth $1,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 202,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 50,199 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 236,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,737,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc acquired a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,666,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,776 shares of the company's stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 7,507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.32% of the company's stock.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Down 4.5 %

VIR stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $5.36. 531,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,335,489. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.95 and a 12-month high of $14.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $740.02 million, a P/E ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.96.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by ($0.05). Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 678.40% and a negative return on equity of 36.71%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.48) earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 94.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VIR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 79,712 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $474,286.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 769,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,554.75. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total value of $107,556.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 708,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,948,373.95. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,611 shares of company stock valued at $663,525 in the last three months. 15.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).