China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 14,138 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Arbutus Biopharma were worth $140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Arbutus Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Walleye Trading LLC bought a new position in Arbutus Biopharma during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Arbutus Biopharma by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 36,388 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 6,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.79% of the company’s stock.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ABUS opened at $3.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.54. Arbutus Biopharma Co. has a one year low of $1.70 and a one year high of $4.72. The firm has a market cap of $725.62 million, a P/E ratio of -8.74 and a beta of 1.91.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.01). Arbutus Biopharma had a negative return on equity of 66.68% and a negative net margin of 766.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.10) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Arbutus Biopharma Co. will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ABUS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Arbutus Biopharma from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Arbutus Biopharma from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Arbutus Biopharma Profile

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops novel therapeutics for chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the United States. Its HBV product pipeline consists of imdusiran (AB-729), a proprietary subcutaneously-delivered RNAi therapeutic product candidate that suppresses all HBV antigens, including HBsAg expression.