Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $449,000 Investment in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. $VIR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 50,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VIR. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Vir Biotechnology by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 1,418.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 6,597 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,646 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 1.8%

VIR opened at $10.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.33 and a beta of 1.62. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.16 and a 12 month high of $11.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.57.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last issued 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). The company had revenue of ($0.03) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 million. Vir Biotechnology had a negative net margin of 638.88% and a negative return on equity of 53.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.88) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -1.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total value of $221,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,078,391 shares in the company, valued at $10,837,829.55. This trade represents a 2.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Janet Napolitano sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total value of $30,240.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,491.20. The trade was a 13.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,579 shares of company stock worth $254,922. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VIR has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vir Biotechnology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.88.

Vir Biotechnology Company 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.