Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) reported that Chief Executive Officer Marianne De Backer disposed of 14,762 shares of common stock on February 24, 2026, according to a Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares were sold at a unit price of $9.5326, producing a transaction value of approximately $140,720.
The filing indicates that the disposition was carried out automatically under a pre-established Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The trade was intended to satisfy tax-withholding obligations that arose from the vesting of restricted stock units.
After the sale, De Backer retained direct ownership of 1,020,704 shares of Vir Biotechnology common stock. She also holds an indirect stake of 53,118 shares through the Ureel-De Backer Family Trust, where she and her spouse act as trustees.
The share sale comes as the company stock has climbed 78% over the past six months. The report notes a current quote of $9.32 per share and references an InvestingPro analysis that suggests the company may be overvalued at that level.
In parallel with insider activity, Vir has advanced several corporate and clinical initiatives:
- It announced a $150 million equity offering, pricing 17,647,058 shares at $8.50 apiece, with a 30-day option for underwriters to purchase an additional 2,647,058 shares.
- This $150 million offering follows an earlier announcement of a planned $200 million stock offering.
- The company disclosed a strategic partnership with Astellas and released Phase 1 data for its PSMA T-cell engager candidate, VIR-5500.
Those program and financing updates prompted analyst reactions. Leerink Partners raised its price target on Vir from $16 to $20 while keeping an Outperform rating. Needham also increased its target from $14 to $18, citing updated trial data from the VIR-5500 program. Both firms emphasized the potential of VIR-5500 in treating metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Taken together, the insider sale, the capped equity raise, and the clinical progress illustrate the company’s concurrent efforts to address near-term financing needs and to advance its research pipeline. The Form 4 filing attributes the insider transaction specifically to a Rule 10b5-1 plan executed to meet tax obligations tied to RSU vesting.
Is VIR a bargain right now? The original report referenced a Fair Value calculator that aggregates 17 industry valuation models to help assess whether the shares represent value at present. That tool was presented as a way for investors to compare VIR against other stocks using a mix of valuation approaches.