Key Points
- EVP Vanina de Verneuil sold 1,343 Vir Biotechnology shares for about $15,216, under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. She retained 112,600 shares after the sale.
- Vir reported a third-quarter loss of $0.57 per share, narrower than analysts expected and improved from a $1.17 loss a year earlier. Revenue was negative $0.19 million, missing expectations of $0.98 million.
- Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $21.86; the article also noted the company expected topline results from its ECLIPSE 1 hepatitis delta trial during the quarter.
Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) EVP Vanina de Verneuil sold 1,343 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.33, for a total value of $15,216.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 112,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,275,758. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.
Verneuil Vanina De also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Tuesday, November 3rd, Vanina de Verneuil sold 2,407 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $26,717.70.
Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 4.9%
Shares of NASDAQ:VIR opened at $11.77 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.02 and a 200 day moving average of $9.56. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of -6.33 and a beta of 1.70. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.82 and a 12-month high of $12.19.
Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.57) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by $0.18. The firm had revenue of ($0.19) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.17) earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 178.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Trading of Vir Biotechnology
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VIR. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter worth $25,034,000. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter valued at $4,843,000. ARCH Venture Management LLC bought a new position in Vir Biotechnology during the second quarter valued at $129,353,521. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 10.1% in the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 1,135,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,176,000 after acquiring an additional 104,100 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter valued at $210,712,000. 65.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently commented on VIR. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $25.00 price target on Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research cut Vir Biotechnology from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Vir Biotechnology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.86.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Vir Biotechnology
Key Vir Biotechnology News
Here are the key news stories impacting Vir Biotechnology this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Vir reported a Q3 loss of $0.57 per share, better than analysts’ expected loss of roughly $0.75–$0.80 and the $1.17 loss a year earlier. The improving loss may support investor sentiment. Zacks Q3 results
- Neutral Sentiment: Management said it expects to report topline results from the ECLIPSE 1 hepatitis delta trial this quarter and highlighted additional oncology catalysts. These events could be important stock drivers, but their impact will depend on the data and updates. Vir corporate update and Q3 results
- Neutral Sentiment: An executive sold a small number of shares under a pre-arranged trading plan to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. The stated reason and limited size make the transaction less informative as a signal about the company’s outlook. SEC filing
- Negative Sentiment: Revenue was negative $0.19 million, missing analysts’ estimate of $0.98 million and declining 178.3% year over year. The revenue shortfall tempers the earnings beat. MarketBeat Q3 results
Vir Biotechnology Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Vir Biotechnology, Inc is a clinical-stage immunology company focused on developing medicines to prevent and treat serious infectious diseases and other immune-related conditions. The company uses antibody engineering, immunologic approaches and other technologies to identify and advance therapies designed to harness or modify the immune system.
Vir's research and development programs have included treatments and vaccines for hepatitis B, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), influenza and other infectious diseases.
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