19,095,583 Shares in Arbutus Biopharma Corporation $ABUS Bought by Two Seas Capital LP

Two Seas Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 19,095,583 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,659,000. Arbutus Biopharma accounts for about 1.8% of Two Seas Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Two Seas Capital LP owned approximately 0.10% of Arbutus Biopharma at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at $130,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $69,000. Western Standard LLC acquired a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,605,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma during the second quarter valued at about $66,077,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma during the second quarter valued at about $818,000. 43.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABUS shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.00.

Arbutus Biopharma Trading Up 9.2%

Shares of ABUS stock opened at $5.21 on Friday. Arbutus Biopharma Corporation has a 1-year low of $3.49 and a 1-year high of $5.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.45.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.70 million. Arbutus Biopharma had a net margin of 84.22% and a return on equity of 90.98%.

Arbutus Biopharma declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, August 21st that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the biopharmaceutical company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.