Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) Short Interest Update

Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,060,000 shares, a decline of 8.7% from the August 15th total of 6,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABUS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on 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 target price on Arbutus Biopharma from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.25.

Institutional Trading of Arbutus Biopharma

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 292,045 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 49,745 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 30,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 8,300 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 66.1% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 32,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 12,833 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma during the first quarter worth about $266,000. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 30.5% during the first quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 41,935 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 9,800 shares in the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

ABUS opened at $4.13 on Thursday. Arbutus Biopharma has a 12 month low of $1.69 and a 12 month high of $4.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.27.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.10) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Arbutus Biopharma will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Arbutus Biopharma

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.