Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) by 132.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,078 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,271 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Vir Biotechnology were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Vir Biotechnology by 258.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 99.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656 shares during the period. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter valued at $99,000. 65.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In related news, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,995 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total transaction of $690,532.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 678,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,418,203.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 72,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total value of $690,532.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 678,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,418,203.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Hanly sold 2,711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total transaction of $27,245.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 132,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,327,293.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,436 shares of company stock valued at $983,659. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of VIR opened at $10.65 on Friday. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.61 and a twelve month high of $27.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $9.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.77.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.51. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 677.69% and a negative return on equity of 32.58%. The business had revenue of $56.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.06) EPS. Vir Biotechnology’s revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.42 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VIR. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.57.

Vir Biotechnology Profile

Vir Biotechnology, Inc, a commercial-stage immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. It offers tobevibart + elebsiran for the treatment of chronic hepatitis delta; elebsiran + PEG-IFN-a, tobevibart ± elebsiran ± PEG-IFN-a, and elebsiran+ TLR8+PD-1 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B; VIR-1388 and Cure mAb combination for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus; VIR-8190 for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus / human metapneumovirus; VIR-2981 for the treatment of influenza; VIR-1949 for the treatment of pre-cancerous HPV lesions; and VIR07229 and Sotrovimab for the treatment of COVID-19 infection under the Xevudy brand.