Rubric Capital Management LP Invests $5.20 Million in Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS)

Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,681,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,195,000. Rubric Capital Management LP owned 0.89% of Arbutus Biopharma as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 36,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 36,388 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 6,649 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 41,935 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Arbutus Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 66.1% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABUS opened at $4.02 on Friday. Arbutus Biopharma Co. has a 52 week low of $1.69 and a 52 week high of $4.72. The company has a market capitalization of $758.90 million, a PE ratio of -9.14 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.29.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Arbutus Biopharma Co. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 10th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Arbutus Biopharma 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.