Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $3.28 Million Stake in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 447,313 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,902 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.32% of Vir Biotechnology worth $3,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VIR. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 5,177 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter worth approximately $118,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Vir Biotechnology by 901.8% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 15,303 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter worth approximately $138,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the third quarter worth approximately $191,000. Institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIR opened at $8.20 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.09 and a beta of 0.64. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a one year low of $6.56 and a one year high of $14.45.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.76) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $12.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.14 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative return on equity of 36.71% and a negative net margin of 678.40%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $107,556.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 708,295 shares in the company, valued at $6,948,373.95. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total value of $67,389.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 79,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $726,264.40. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,859 shares of company stock worth $326,458. 15.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VIR shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

Vir Biotechnology 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).