Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Shares Up 5.7% – Should You Buy?

Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) rose 5.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $4.08 and last traded at $4.08. Approximately 408,863 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 1,126,618 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ABUS. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Arbutus Biopharma from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arbutus Biopharma has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $777.51 million, a PE ratio of -9.36 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.46.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.10) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Arbutus Biopharma Co. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Arbutus Biopharma

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Walleye Trading LLC acquired a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.