SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Stake in Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,172 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 6,117 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Arbutus Biopharma were worth $115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 43.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABUS. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. HC Wainwright decreased their price target on Arbutus Biopharma from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Friday, March 1st.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ABUS opened at $2.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $490.01 million, a PE ratio of -6.20 and a beta of 2.03. Arbutus Biopharma Co. has a fifty-two week low of $1.69 and a fifty-two week high of $3.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $2.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.34.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $2.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm posted ($0.14) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Arbutus Biopharma Co. 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.