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

Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in 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 short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Arbutus Biopharma from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.25.

Arbutus Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABUS opened at $3.83 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $722.79 million, a P/E ratio of -8.70 and a beta of 1.92. Arbutus Biopharma has a 1 year low of $1.69 and a 1 year high of $4.72.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 million. Arbutus Biopharma had a negative net margin of 766.20% and a negative return on equity of 66.68%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.10) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Arbutus Biopharma will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arbutus Biopharma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABUS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 57,323 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 4,191 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 18.0% during the second quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 36,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 41,935 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 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.