Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Receives "Sell (D-)" Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Arbutus Biopharma's stock received a "Sell (D-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, while Chardan Capital maintains a "Buy" rating with a target price of $5.00.
• The stock is currently down 2.6% at $4.18, with a market cap of approximately $801.31 million and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Recent quarterly earnings showed a profit of $0.01 per share, surpassing estimates, with revenue significantly higher than predicted at $10.74 million.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating restated by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5.00.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of Arbutus Biopharma stock traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, hitting $4.18. 749,979 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 953,072. Arbutus Biopharma has a 52-week low of $2.70 and a 52-week high of $5.10. The firm's 50-day moving average is $3.93 and its 200 day moving average is $3.52. The stock has a market cap of $801.31 million, a P/E ratio of -14.41 and a beta of 1.09.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $10.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 million. Arbutus Biopharma had a negative return on equity of 59.28% and a negative net margin of 352.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Arbutus Biopharma will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Arbutus Biopharma

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Seas Capital LP lifted its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 10.3% during the second quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 10,443,317 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,270,000 after buying an additional 977,361 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 2.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,637,021 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,240,000 after acquiring an additional 95,876 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 173.3% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,655,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,269,000 after buying an additional 1,684,110 shares in the last quarter. BlackBarn Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 11.2% in the second quarter. BlackBarn Capital Partners LP now owns 2,603,521 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $8,045,000 after purchasing an additional 261,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Arbutus Biopharma by 63.5% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 2,575,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,960,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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