Putnam Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR)

Putnam Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR – Get Rating) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 77,508 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,405 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC’s holdings in Vir Biotechnology were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vir Biotechnology in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 1,270.7% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vir Biotechnology by 16,660.0% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 2,499 shares in the last quarter. 74.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VIR. HC Wainwright dropped their target price on shares of Vir Biotechnology from $125.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Vir Biotechnology from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $35.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $41.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Vir Biotechnology in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Vir Biotechnology from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $18.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Friday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Endurance (Cayman) Ltd Svf sold 104,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.53, for a total transaction of $2,655,783.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,597,509 shares in the company, valued at $525,854,404.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Vir Biotechnology news, Director Vicki L. Sato sold 17,935 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.59, for a total value of $405,151.65. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,327,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,984,249.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Endurance (Cayman) Ltd Svf sold 104,026 shares of Vir Biotechnology stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.53, for a total transaction of $2,655,783.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,597,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $525,854,404.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,447,050 shares of company stock worth $39,236,135. 22.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vir Biotechnology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VIR opened at $22.55 on Tuesday. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.05 and a 1 year high of $31.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.26.

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.72). The company had revenue of $49.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.92 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 93.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vir Biotechnology, Inc. will post -3.47 EPS for the current year.

Vir Biotechnology Profile

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Vir Biotechnology, Inc, a commercial-stage immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. It develops Sotrovimab (VIR-7832), a SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing mAbs to treat and prevent COVID-19 infection under the Xevudy brand; VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 for the treatment of hepatitis B virus; VIR-2482 for the prevention of influenza A virus; and VIR-1111 for the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus.