Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,340,000 shares, a drop of 8.1% from the April 30th total of 5,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABUS. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised 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 worth $8,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302,978 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 436,506 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 49,265 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 349,435 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 57,390 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 139,261 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised 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 during the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ABUS shares. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright cut their price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABUS traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.36. 831,299 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 815,481. The firm has a market cap of $634.10 million, a PE ratio of -7.64 and a beta of 2.05. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $2.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.59. Arbutus Biopharma has a 12 month low of $1.69 and a 12 month high of $3.44.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10). Arbutus Biopharma had a negative return on equity of 62.68% and a negative net margin of 572.81%. The business had revenue of $1.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arbutus Biopharma will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

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.