Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.16 and traded as high as $4.23. Arbutus Biopharma shares last traded at $4.06, with a volume of 1,139,145 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABUS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Wednesday. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.00.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Down 2.4%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $4.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.16. The company has a market capitalization of $780.82 million, a P/E ratio of -17.65 and a beta of 0.70.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.01. Arbutus Biopharma had a negative net margin of 289.79% and a negative return on equity of 50.26%. The business had revenue of $0.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arbutus Biopharma Corporation will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Management Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Arbutus Biopharma by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Management Associates Inc. now owns 127,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 15,050 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,638 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 18,265 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 12,152 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Two Seas Capital LP boosted its stake in Arbutus Biopharma by 5.2% in the third quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 10,991,261 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $49,900,000 after buying an additional 547,944 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.79% of the company’s stock.

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.