950,000 Shares in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. $VIR Bought by Avidity Partners Management LP

Key Points

• Avidity Partners Management acquired 950,000 Vir Biotechnology shares worth approximately $8.5 million, representing about 0.56% of the company and 1.7% of Avidity’s portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 65.32% of VIR.
• Vir Biotechnology shares opened at $8.66 after declining 2.7%; the company reported a quarterly loss of $0.85 per share, far worse than analysts’ expected $0.01 loss, and revenue of negative $0.03 million versus expectations of $55.49 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains a consensus “Moderate Buy”, with a target price of $20.88, although some firms maintain or downgraded the stock to a sell rating.

Avidity Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 950,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,512,000. Vir Biotechnology accounts for approximately 1.7% of Avidity Partners Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Avidity Partners Management LP owned approximately 0.56% of Vir Biotechnology at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Vir Biotechnology by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 965,814 shares of the company's stock worth $8,654,000 after buying an additional 34,906 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 47.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 54,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 17,732 shares during the period. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the 1st quarter valued at $24,593,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,315 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 5,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 223.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,355 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 10,603 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Down 2.7%

Vir Biotechnology stock opened at $8.66 on Friday. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.16 and a 12-month high of $11.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.77 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.95.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.85) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.84). Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 53.31% and a negative net margin of 638.88%.The firm had revenue of ($0.03) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.49 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.88) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -1.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In related news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 3,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total value of $30,240.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,491.20. This represents a 13.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VIR. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vir Biotechnology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.88.

About Vir Biotechnology

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.

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