Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. Arbutus Biopharma had a return on equity of 129.32% and a net margin of 83.95%.The company had revenue of $1.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.70 million.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ ABUS traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.55. The stock had a trading volume of 760,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,029,292. The business’s 50 day moving average is $4.54 and its 200-day moving average is $4.41. Arbutus Biopharma has a 52 week low of $3.31 and a 52 week high of $5.38. The company has a market cap of $898.80 million, a P/E ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 247,254 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 37,616 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 45,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 6,161 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 56,483 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 24,699 shares during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Arbutus Biopharma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 52.2% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 120,821 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 41,447 shares during the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.00.

Arbutus Biopharma Company Profile

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.