Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR - Free Report) by 42.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 244,569 shares of the company's stock after selling 180,800 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Vir Biotechnology worth $1,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VIR. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,288 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 136.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 5,177 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Vir Biotechnology in the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.32% of the company's stock.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

VIR traded up $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,531,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,356. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.86 and a 200-day moving average of $8.21. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a one year low of $4.96 and a one year high of $14.45. The stock has a market cap of $784.46 million, a PE ratio of -1.46 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vir Biotechnology

In related news, EVP Verneuil Vanina De sold 7,373 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total transaction of $67,389.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 79,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at $726,264.40. This trade represents a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Backer Marianne De sold 79,712 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total value of $474,286.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 769,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,578,554.75. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 99,611 shares of company stock valued at $663,525. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VIR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Vir Biotechnology from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vir Biotechnology has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.67.

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).