Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS)

Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 14,379 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,406% compared to the typical daily volume of 955 call options.

Arbutus Biopharma Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Arbutus Biopharma stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.24. The stock had a trading volume of 2,263,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,284. The company has a market capitalization of $800.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.84 and a beta of 1.91. Arbutus Biopharma has a 52 week low of $1.69 and a 52 week high of $4.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.45.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 million. Arbutus Biopharma had a negative net margin of 766.20% and a negative return on equity of 66.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.10) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arbutus Biopharma will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,195,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 102.2% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 208,152 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 105,228 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 21.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 493,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 86,104 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 19.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 349,435 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 57,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Arbutus Biopharma during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ABUS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Arbutus Biopharma from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Arbutus Biopharma from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.25.

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.