Whitefort Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 15,794,261 Arbutus Biopharma Corporation $ABUS

Whitefort Capital Management LP bought a new position in Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 15,794,261 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,812,453,000. Arbutus Biopharma makes up 18.7% of Whitefort Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Whitefort Capital Management LP owned approximately 8.00% of Arbutus Biopharma at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 290.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,075,948 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544,070 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 124,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 6,089 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 3.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 207,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 7,048 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 71.5% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 18,255 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 7,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 29.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 181,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 41,622 shares during the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arbutus Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABUS opened at $5.20 on Wednesday. Arbutus Biopharma Corporation has a twelve month low of $3.50 and a twelve month high of $5.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.47.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.01). Arbutus Biopharma had a return on equity of 90.98% and a net margin of 84.22%.The company had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.70 million.

Arbutus Biopharma declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, August 21st that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the biopharmaceutical company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABUS. Wall Street Zen cut Arbutus Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.00.

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.