Verus Capital Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS)

Verus Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) by 28.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,550 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Arbutus Biopharma were worth $63,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABUS. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 50.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,407,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472,652 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 218.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,212,246 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,667,000 after purchasing an additional 831,663 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 466.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 272,029 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 223,995 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in Arbutus Biopharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $754,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Arbutus Biopharma by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,448,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,280,000 after buying an additional 135,442 shares in the last quarter. 43.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of ABUS stock opened at $3.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $653.75 million, a PE ratio of -8.02 and a beta of 1.78. Arbutus Biopharma Co. has a fifty-two week low of $2.30 and a fifty-two week high of $4.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ABUS shares. StockNews.com lowered Arbutus Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 target price (up from $4.50) on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Arbutus Biopharma to $5.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arbutus Biopharma presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.50.

Arbutus Biopharma Company Profile

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.