Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.70 million. Arbutus Biopharma had a net margin of 83.95% and a return on equity of 129.32%.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of ABUS opened at $4.59 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $4.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.42. The company has a market capitalization of $906.71 million, a P/E ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.64. Arbutus Biopharma has a fifty-two week low of $3.31 and a fifty-two week high of $5.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ABUS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.00.

Institutional Trading of Arbutus Biopharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,702,776 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $128,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,252,164 shares in the last quarter. Two Seas Capital LP lifted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 5.2% during the third quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 10,991,261 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $49,900,000 after purchasing an additional 547,944 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,908,211 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809,893 shares during the period. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 5,415,109 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,677,307 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,691,000 after purchasing an additional 11,145 shares in the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arbutus Biopharma Company Profile

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and advancing a cure for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The company’s pipeline features both direct-acting antivirals and host-targeting therapies designed to reduce viral load and restore immune function. Lead programs include an RNA interference (RNAi) candidate aimed at silencing viral gene expression and next-generation capsid assembly modulators that seek to inhibit viral replication at its core.

In addition to its antiviral portfolio, Arbutus leverages proprietary lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology to optimize the distribution and cellular uptake of nucleic acid therapeutics.