Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.41 and traded as high as $4.67. Arbutus Biopharma shares last traded at $4.59, with a volume of 968,605 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Arbutus Biopharma Trading Down 1.7%

The company has a market cap of $906.70 million, a P/E ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $4.54 and its 200-day moving average is $4.41.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.70 million. Arbutus Biopharma had a net margin of 83.95% and a return on equity of 129.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arbutus Biopharma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABUS. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Western Standard LLC purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,605,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth $66,077,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth $818,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the second quarter worth $256,000. Institutional investors own 43.79% of the company’s stock.

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.