Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) Short Interest Down 8.7% in August

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

Arbutus Biopharma Trading Down 4.7 %

ABUS opened at $4.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $804.20 million, a P/E ratio of -9.68 and a beta of 1.92. Arbutus Biopharma has a 12 month low of $1.69 and a 12 month high of $4.72. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.26.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on ABUS shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Arbutus Biopharma from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One 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, Arbutus Biopharma presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arbutus Biopharma

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake 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 valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 49,745 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 37.4% during 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 last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 66.1% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 32,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 12,833 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $266,000. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 9,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.79% of the company’s stock.

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.