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

Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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. Currently, 4.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 860,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 69,831 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 3,780 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 40,179 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,870 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 79,761 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 42,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 6,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 89,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 8,308 shares during the period. 43.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arbutus Biopharma Trading Up 3.4 %

ABUS stock opened at $3.31 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.61. Arbutus Biopharma has a 12-month low of $2.30 and a 12-month high of $4.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $627.22 million, a PE ratio of -7.70 and a beta of 1.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABUS. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price target (up from $4.50) on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.50.

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.