Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Cuts Stake in Arbutus Biopharma Corporation $ABUS

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lessened its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,575,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 75,000 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.82% of Arbutus Biopharma worth $5,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABUS. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 971,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,177,000 after purchasing an additional 303,475 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 99.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 139,462 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 69,631 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,330,683 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,351,000 after acquiring an additional 102,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 171,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 75,212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.79% of the company's stock.

Arbutus Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of ABUS traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $4.64. 535,280 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 938,902. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $3.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.38. Arbutus Biopharma Corporation has a 12 month low of $2.70 and a 12 month high of $5.10. The firm has a market cap of $888.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.98 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $5.00 price objective 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 report on Friday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $5.00.

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.