Boothbay Fund Management LLC Sells 450,000 Shares of Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC lessened its stake in Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS - Free Report) by 73.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,277 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 450,000 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC owned 0.09% of Arbutus Biopharma worth $531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABUS. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the 4th quarter valued at $236,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,980,864 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $29,367,000 after buying an additional 62,282 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 466.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 272,029 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 223,995 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 900.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 896,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 806,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the 4th quarter worth $301,000. 43.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on ABUS shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Arbutus Biopharma from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. Finally, Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5.50.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

ABUS traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.47. 130,508 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 990,702. Arbutus Biopharma Co. has a one year low of $2.70 and a one year high of $4.73. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $3.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $663.48 million, a P/E ratio of -8.06 and a beta of 1.50.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.01. Arbutus Biopharma had a negative net margin of 1,137.65% and a negative return on equity of 68.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arbutus Biopharma Co. will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

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.