Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Arbutus Biopharma shares moved above their 200-day moving average, reaching $4.93 and last trading at $4.85 on unusually heavy volume of about 16.9 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $5.00, with one Buy and one Hold rating.
• The company missed quarterly EPS expectations, reporting a loss of $0.03 per share versus estimates of $0.02, although revenue of $1.01 million exceeded forecasts. Institutional investors own 43.79% of the stock, including several large new positions.

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.59 and traded as high as $4.93. Arbutus Biopharma shares last traded at $4.85, with a volume of 16,875,180 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ABUS. Weiss Ratings upgraded Arbutus Biopharma from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Arbutus Biopharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5.00.

Arbutus Biopharma Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.59. The company has a market cap of $960.83 million, a P/E ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.62.

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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arbutus Biopharma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Two Seas Capital LP acquired a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $91,659,000. Whitefort Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the second quarter worth approximately $75,812,453. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the second quarter valued at $66,077,000. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 320.6% during the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 6,626,389 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $29,819,000 after acquiring an additional 5,051,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at $12,702,000. Institutional investors own 43.79% of the company's stock.

About Arbutus Biopharma

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation NASDAQ: ABUS is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Its research is aimed at addressing multiple stages of the HBV lifecycle and developing therapies that may improve long-term viral suppression and support a functional cure.

The company's pipeline has included AB-729, an RNA interference-based therapy designed to reduce hepatitis B surface antigen, and AB-836, an orally administered capsid assembly modulator intended to interfere with HBV replication.

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