Aberdeen Group plc Sells 135,688 Shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. $VIR

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group trimmed its Vir position by 8.9%, selling 135,688 shares to hold 1,390,577 shares (~1.0% of the company), and insiders have sold 257,816 shares (~$2.33M) in the past three months.
• Vir beat quarterly expectations with EPS of -$0.31 (vs. -$0.42 est.) and revenue of $64.07M (vs. $19.91M est.), a 417.8% year‑over‑year revenue increase despite large negative margins.
• Equity analysts are largely positive—MarketBeat shows a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a $20.44 target, with firms like Morgan Stanley, Needham and Evercore raising price targets or ratings.

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,390,577 shares of the company's stock after selling 135,688 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 1.00% of Vir Biotechnology worth $8,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VIR. ARCH Venture Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the 2nd quarter worth $65,100,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 129.2% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,396,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,974,000 after acquiring an additional 787,212 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 245.6% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 466,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,024,000 after acquiring an additional 331,701 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 649,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,708,000 after acquiring an additional 279,685 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 100.7% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 518,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,614,000 after acquiring an additional 260,308 shares during the period. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 13,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.82, for a total transaction of $134,534.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 112,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,483.24. The trade was a 10.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Brent Sabatini sold 7,711 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.12, for a total value of $70,324.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 61,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at $564,546.24. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 257,816 shares of company stock worth $2,326,218 in the last three months. Insiders own 16.00% of the company's stock.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:VIR opened at $9.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.62 and a 200 day moving average of $6.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.01 and a beta of 1.66. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.16 and a 12 month high of $10.94.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $64.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.91 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 638.88% and a negative return on equity of 49.31%. Vir Biotechnology's revenue for the quarter was up 417.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.76) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VIR shares. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Leerink Partners restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.44.

Vir Biotechnology Profile

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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