620,717 Shares in Arbutus Biopharma Corporation $ABUS Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management acquired 620,717 shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the third quarter, worth approximately $2.97 million and representing a 0.31% stake.
• Institutional ownership remains significant at 43.79%, with several other investment firms also initiating or increasing positions in ABUS.
• ABUS opened at $4.18, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $5.00 average price target, while the company recently reported a quarterly EPS loss slightly wider than expected.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 620,717 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $2,967,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.31% of Arbutus Biopharma at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABUS. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the second quarter worth about $999,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the second quarter worth about $201,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the second quarter worth about $120,000. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the second quarter worth about $113,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABUS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5.00.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Down 3.5%

NASDAQ:ABUS opened at $4.18 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $4.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.58. Arbutus Biopharma Corporation has a 52 week low of $3.50 and a 52 week high of $5.45. The stock has a market cap of $828.10 million, a PE ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.76.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.70 million.

Arbutus Biopharma announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, August 21st that authorizes the company to buy back $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biopharmaceutical company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Arbutus Biopharma Company Profile

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Its research is aimed at addressing multiple stages of the HBV lifecycle, with the long-term goal of developing functional cures rather than therapies that only suppress the virus.

The company's pipeline has included investigational medicines such as AB-729, an RNA interference therapeutic designed to reduce hepatitis B surface antigen, and other antiviral candidates intended to inhibit viral replication.

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