Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Stake in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. $VIR

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) by 23.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 761,364 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 146,900 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.45% of Vir Biotechnology worth $6,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology by 2,088.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 268,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after buying an additional 256,037 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vir Biotechnology during the 1st quarter valued at about $359,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Vir Biotechnology by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 742,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,813,000 after acquiring an additional 225,544 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 245.6% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 466,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,024,000 after acquiring an additional 331,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 2,566 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Janet Napolitano sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 13.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VIR shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Vir Biotechnology from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Vir Biotechnology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.88.

Vir Biotechnology Trading Up 3.0%

Vir Biotechnology stock opened at $9.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.00. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.16 and a 12-month high of $11.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.93 and a beta of 1.66.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of ($0.03) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.88) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -1.81 EPS for the current year.

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.