1,711,672 Shares in Arbutus Biopharma Corporation $ABUS Acquired by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,711,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,216,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.87% of Arbutus Biopharma as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 290.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,075,948 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544,070 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 124,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 6,089 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 207,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 7,048 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 71.5% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 18,255 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 7,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 181,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 41,622 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABUS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Arbutus Biopharma from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.00.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of ABUS opened at $5.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.64. Arbutus Biopharma Corporation has a 52-week low of $3.50 and a 52-week high of $5.45.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01). 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 84.22% and a return on equity of 90.98%.

Arbutus Biopharma declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, August 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biopharmaceutical company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.