Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,410,000 shares, a growth of 16.6% from the February 13th total of 7,210,000 shares. Approximately 4.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 860,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.8 days.

Arbutus Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of ABUS stock opened at $3.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $627.22 million, a P/E ratio of -7.70 and a beta of 1.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3.32 and its 200 day moving average is $3.61. Arbutus Biopharma has a 1-year low of $2.30 and a 1-year high of $4.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whitefort Capital Management LP raised its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Whitefort Capital Management LP now owns 13,241,916 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $43,301,000 after acquiring an additional 373,949 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,980,864 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,367,000 after buying an additional 62,282 shares in the last quarter. Two Seas Capital LP increased its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 8,740,956 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,583,000 after buying an additional 353,568 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 50.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,407,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,482,136 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,390,000 after acquiring an additional 33,536 shares during the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABUS shares. StockNews.com downgraded Arbutus Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arbutus Biopharma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.50.

Arbutus Biopharma Company 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.