Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,410,000 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the February 13th total of 7,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 860,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.8 days. Approximately 4.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Arbutus Biopharma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whitefort Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Arbutus Biopharma by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Whitefort Capital Management LP now owns 13,241,916 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $43,301,000 after purchasing an additional 373,949 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,980,864 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,367,000 after acquiring an additional 62,282 shares during the last quarter. Two Seas Capital LP grew its stake in Arbutus Biopharma by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 8,740,956 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,583,000 after acquiring an additional 353,568 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 50.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,407,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,482,136 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,390,000 after purchasing an additional 33,536 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.79% of the company’s stock.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ABUS opened at $3.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $606.37 million, a PE ratio of -7.44 and a beta of 1.93. Arbutus Biopharma has a 52-week low of $2.30 and a 52-week high of $4.73.

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.