Arbutus Biopharma's (ABUS) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Chardan Capital

Chardan Capital restated their buy rating on shares of Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $5.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Chardan Capital also issued estimates for Arbutus Biopharma's FY2025 earnings at ($0.30) EPS.

ABUS has been the subject of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $5.00 price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com cut Arbutus Biopharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arbutus Biopharma presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5.50.

Arbutus Biopharma Price Performance

ABUS traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.53. 556,162 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,062,360. The stock has a market capitalization of $667.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.24 and a beta of 1.93. Arbutus Biopharma has a 52 week low of $2.30 and a 52 week high of $4.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.55.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 million. Arbutus Biopharma had a negative return on equity of 68.18% and a negative net margin of 1,137.65%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arbutus Biopharma will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABUS. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Arbutus Biopharma by 50.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,407,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $16,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472,652 shares in the last quarter. Rangeley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth about $4,771,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 218.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,212,246 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,667,000 after buying an additional 831,663 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 900.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 896,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 806,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitefort Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Whitefort Capital Management LP now owns 13,241,916 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $43,301,000 after buying an additional 373,949 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.79% of the company's stock.

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.