Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $4.70, but opened at $3.94. Arbutus Biopharma shares last traded at $3.8650, with a volume of 3,116,814 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ABUS shares. Wall Street Zen cut Arbutus Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.00.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Down 12.9%

The stock has a market cap of $787.55 million, a P/E ratio of -17.80 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.12.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. Arbutus Biopharma had a negative net margin of 289.79% and a negative return on equity of 50.26%. The company had revenue of $0.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 million. Analysts anticipate that Arbutus Biopharma Corporation will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arbutus Biopharma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,638 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 18,265 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 14.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 12,152 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the third quarter worth $73,000. Two Seas Capital LP raised its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 5.2% in the third quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 10,991,261 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $49,900,000 after buying an additional 547,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma during the third quarter valued at $47,000. 43.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Arbutus Biopharma

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.