Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Shares of Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 1,519,395 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 1,132,564 shares.The stock last traded at $4.22 and had previously closed at $4.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ABUS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 10th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Arbutus Biopharma from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Arbutus Biopharma from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $777.51 million, a PE ratio of -9.36 and a beta of 1.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.46.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABUS. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC purchased a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the third quarter worth $50,000. Walleye Trading LLC bought a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the first quarter valued at $36,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma during the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake 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. 43.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.