Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Trading Up 6.6% – Should You Buy?

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS)’s stock price rose 6.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $4.94 and last traded at $5.0230. Approximately 418,364 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 963,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABUS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arbutus Biopharma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.00.

Arbutus Biopharma Trading Up 4.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $943.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.28 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $4.45 and its 200 day moving average is $3.92.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.01. Arbutus Biopharma had a negative return on equity of 50.26% and a negative net margin of 289.79%.The company had revenue of $0.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 million. Analysts anticipate that Arbutus Biopharma Corporation will post -0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arbutus Biopharma

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the 3rd quarter valued at $73,000. Two Seas Capital LP lifted its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 10,991,261 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $49,900,000 after acquiring an additional 547,944 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 71.4% in the third quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 37,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 15,439 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 9.2% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 38,959 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280 shares during the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.