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Brent Sabatini, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer at Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR), a $1.26 billion market cap biotechnology company, recently made a notable transaction involving the company’s stock. According to InvestingPro data, VIR has shown strong momentum with a 29% gain year-to-date, despite burning through cash rapidly. On February 24, Sabatini sold 1,562 shares of common stock at an average price of $9.45 per share, amounting to a total of $14,766. This sale was executed to cover tax obligations related to the vesting of restricted stock units. The current stock price of $9.16 suggests the stock is trading below its InvestingPro Fair Value, with the company maintaining strong liquidity evidenced by a current ratio of 8.94.
Earlier, on February 22, Sabatini acquired 20,000 shares of common stock at no cost, as part of the company’s Equity Incentive Plan. Additionally, he obtained stock options for 40,000 shares, with an exercise price set at $9.57 per share. These options are set to vest over a period, beginning on February 22, 2026. Following these transactions, Sabatini holds 46,627 shares of Vir Biotechnology directly. For deeper insights into insider trading patterns and comprehensive financial analysis, access the full VIR Research Report on InvestingPro, where you’ll find 8 additional key insights about the company’s financial health.
In other recent news, Vir Biotechnology has announced a change in its executive team with Maninder Hora, Ph.D., set to become the new Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Operations Officer, following the departure of Ann (Aine) M. Hanly, Ph.D., in February 2025. This transition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On the financial front, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) upgraded Vir Biotechnology’s stock rating from Equalweight to Overweight, doubling the price target to $20, driven by positive preliminary results from Vir’s T-cell engager (TCE) pipeline, including the VIR-5500 program. Additionally, Goldman Sachs maintained its Buy rating with a $28 price target, highlighting the strategic shift into oncology as a potential value driver. JPMorgan also raised its price target to $14 while maintaining a Neutral rating, acknowledging promising data from Vir’s TCE programs. The company’s recent trial data has shown encouraging safety and efficacy results for VIR-5818 and VIR-5500, with no dose-limiting cytokine release syndrome observed, suggesting a favorable safety margin. CEO Marianne De Backer expressed optimism about these treatments, emphasizing their potential to offer effective and well-tolerated options for cancer patients. Vir Biotechnology plans to continue dose escalation trials and discuss these findings in an upcoming investor conference call.
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