Bank of America Corp DE Acquires 1,142,539 Shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. $VIR

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 1,142,539 shares of Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter, worth approximately $11.6 million and representing about 0.68% of the company.
• Institutional interest increased substantially, with BlackRock and ARCH Venture Management making major new investments. Hedge funds and other institutions now own 65.32% of Vir Biotechnology.
• Vir reported quarterly revenue of $238.95 million and EPS of $0.47, beating analyst estimates, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $21.57.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,142,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,642,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.68% of Vir Biotechnology as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter worth about $210,712,000. ARCH Venture Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter valued at $129,353,521. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the first quarter valued at $24,593,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10,878.9% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,480,828 shares of the company's stock worth $13,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avidity Partners Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the 1st quarter worth about $8,512,000. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

Shares of VIR opened at $10.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.67. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.82 and a fifty-two week high of $11.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of -5.73 and a beta of 1.63.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.14. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 638.88% and a negative return on equity of 29.99%. The company had revenue of $238.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.80) earnings per share. Vir Biotechnology's revenue for the quarter was up 19582.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -1.84 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VIR. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $25.00 price objective on Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Vir Biotechnology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.57.

Vir Biotechnology Company Profile

Vir Biotechnology, Inc is a clinical-stage immunology company focused on developing therapies for serious infectious diseases and cancer. The company uses technologies involving antibodies, T cells, small interfering RNA and other immune-based approaches to discover and develop treatments designed to harness or enhance the body's immune response.

Vir's development programs have included therapies for hepatitis B, influenza, human immunodeficiency virus and other infectious diseases, as well as oncology applications.

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