Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Stock Price Up 5.3% – What’s Next?

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS) was up 5.3% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $4.93 and last traded at $4.9370. 1,416,271 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 2,737,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABUS. Wall Street Zen cut Arbutus Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Arbutus Biopharma from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.00.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Up 4.8%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.59. The firm has a market cap of $973.69 million, a P/E ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.62.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.70 million. Arbutus Biopharma had a return on equity of 90.98% and a net margin of 84.22%.

Arbutus Biopharma announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, August 21st that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the biopharmaceutical company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arbutus Biopharma

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABUS. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the second quarter valued at approximately $999,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $201,000. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $120,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at $113,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 461,646 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after acquiring an additional 20,722 shares in the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Arbutus Biopharma

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ: ABUS) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Its research is aimed at addressing multiple stages of the HBV lifecycle and developing therapies that may improve long-term viral suppression and support a functional cure.

The company’s pipeline has included AB-729, an RNA interference-based therapy designed to reduce hepatitis B surface antigen, and AB-836, an orally administered capsid assembly modulator intended to interfere with HBV replication.