Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Given Buy Rating at Chardan Capital

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Chardan Capital in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $4.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Chardan Capital’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 46.52% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ABUS. HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Thursday, April 4th.

Arbutus Biopharma Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of ABUS traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 343,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,213,539. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.39. Arbutus Biopharma has a 1-year low of $1.69 and a 1-year high of $3.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $490.01 million, a P/E ratio of -6.36 and a beta of 2.05.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.12). The company had revenue of $2.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 million. Arbutus Biopharma had a negative return on equity of 57.82% and a negative net margin of 401.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.14) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arbutus Biopharma will post -0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arbutus Biopharma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABUS. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the 3rd quarter worth about $81,000. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 148.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 131,761 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 78,761 shares during the period. Kades & Cheifetz LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma during the third quarter worth $41,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 175.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 131,845 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 83,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 4,149,904 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,424,000 after buying an additional 1,302,978 shares in the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is 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.