Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) Short Interest Up 8.3% in September

Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,560,000 shares, a growth of 8.3% from the August 31st total of 6,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Arbutus Biopharma Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ABUS opened at $3.85 on Tuesday. Arbutus Biopharma has a 52-week low of $1.69 and a 52-week high of $4.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.34.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.10) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arbutus Biopharma will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Arbutus Biopharma from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arbutus Biopharma

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABUS. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Walleye Trading LLC acquired a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 12,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 36,388 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 6,649 shares during the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.