Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. $VIR

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) by 23.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 761,364 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 146,900 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Vir Biotechnology were worth $6,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VIR. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 1,418.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 6,597 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,646 shares during the period. Finally, Nano Cap New Millennium Growth Fund L P acquired a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vir Biotechnology from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Vir Biotechnology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.88.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

NASDAQ VIR opened at $9.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.00. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a one year low of $4.16 and a one year high of $11.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.93 and a beta of 1.66.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.84). Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 638.88% and a negative return on equity of 53.31%. The business had revenue of ($0.03) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.88) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vir Biotechnology

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total value of $30,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $200,491.20. This trade represents a 13.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vir Biotechnology Profile

Vir Biotechnology, Inc is a clinical?stage immunology company dedicated to developing therapies that prevent and treat serious infectious diseases. The company leverages a suite of proprietary technology platforms—ranging from antibody isolation and screening tools to cell?based assays and bioinformatics—to identify and advance antiviral and antibacterial candidates. Its scientific approach centers on harnessing the human immune system through monoclonal antibodies and immunomodulatory agents.

The company’s pipeline includes product candidates targeting influenza A, COVID?19, HIV, hepatitis B, and tuberculosis.