Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) Short Interest Down 16.0% in October

Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,540,000 shares, a decrease of 16.0% from the October 15th total of 7,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Arbutus Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABUS opened at $3.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $689.74 million, a PE ratio of -8.46 and a beta of 1.92. Arbutus Biopharma has a 1 year low of $1.75 and a 1 year high of $4.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma to $5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th. Chardan Capital upped their price objective on Arbutus Biopharma from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Arbutus Biopharma from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arbutus Biopharma

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABUS. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,448,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,280,000 after purchasing an additional 135,442 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Arbutus Biopharma by 466.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 272,029 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 223,995 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 30,013 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 12,975 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 496,818 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,913,000 after buying an additional 21,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,472,652 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.79% of the company’s stock.

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.