Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. $VIR

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 1,624.4%, now holding 64,839 shares valued at approximately $420,000.
• Vir Biotechnology reported a loss of $0.80 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst expectations and showing a 60.5% revenue decline year-over-year.
• The stock has received positive coverage from analysts, with eight analysts rating it as "Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.44.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR - Free Report) by 1,624.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,839 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 61,079 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Vir Biotechnology were worth $420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 39,268 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,459 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 3,209 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 71,332 shares of the company's stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 3,506 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 20,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 4,683 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total transaction of $112,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,298,391 shares in the company, valued at $6,621,794.10. This represents a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Eisner sold 6,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.47, for a total value of $37,174.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 108,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $591,875.88. The trade was a 5.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,382 shares of company stock worth $278,770 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 16.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VIR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Vir Biotechnology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, July 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.44.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VIR traded up $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,321,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,397. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.16 and a 12 month high of $14.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.08 and a 200-day moving average of $5.81. The firm has a market cap of $694.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.25 and a beta of 1.28.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 50.22% and a negative net margin of 2,895.94%.The firm's revenue was down 60.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.02) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).