Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $5.17 and last traded at $5.1650, with a volume of 1098825 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABUS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Arbutus Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.00.

Arbutus Biopharma Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.62.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Arbutus Biopharma had a return on equity of 129.32% and a net margin of 83.95%.The firm had revenue of $179.13 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Arbutus Biopharma Corporation will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Arbutus Biopharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 290.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,075,948 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544,070 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 5.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 124,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 6,089 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Arbutus Biopharma by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 207,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 7,048 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in Arbutus Biopharma by 71.5% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 18,255 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 7,610 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 181,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 41,622 shares in the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Arbutus Biopharma

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and advancing a cure for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The company’s pipeline features both direct-acting antivirals and host-targeting therapies designed to reduce viral load and restore immune function. Lead programs include an RNA interference (RNAi) candidate aimed at silencing viral gene expression and next-generation capsid assembly modulators that seek to inhibit viral replication at its core.

In addition to its antiviral portfolio, Arbutus leverages proprietary lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology to optimize the distribution and cellular uptake of nucleic acid therapeutics.