Vontobel Holding Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its stake in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,241 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,205 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Vir Biotechnology were worth $405,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 143.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 194,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 2,922 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 5,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 550,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,121,000 after buying an additional 7,287 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VIR shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays cut their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Vir Biotechnology from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $10.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.83.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Down 0.5 %

VIR stock opened at $9.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.50 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.48. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.56 and a 52 week high of $14.45.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 10,960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $137,219.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,312,391 shares in the company, valued at $16,431,135.32. This represents a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director George A. Scangos sold 10,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total value of $107,556.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 708,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,948,373.95. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,562 shares of company stock worth $259,693 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

About Vir Biotechnology

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).