Arbutus Biopharma Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:ABUS)

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 5,605 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 753% compared to the typical daily volume of 657 call options.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ ABUS opened at $4.14 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $796.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.00 and a beta of 0.70. Arbutus Biopharma has a 52 week low of $2.70 and a 52 week high of $5.10.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Arbutus Biopharma will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ABUS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Friday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arbutus Biopharma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.00.

Institutional Trading of Arbutus Biopharma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 3,911.1% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,844 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 15,449 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 71.5% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 18,255 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 7,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma in the second quarter valued at $61,000. Hedge funds and other 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.