Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Stake in Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS)

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 513,302 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,484 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Arbutus Biopharma were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Arbutus Biopharma during the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. Institutional investors own 43.79% of the company’s stock.

Arbutus Biopharma Stock Performance

Arbutus Biopharma stock opened at $3.14 on Friday. Arbutus Biopharma Co. has a fifty-two week low of $2.63 and a fifty-two week high of $4.73. The stock has a market cap of $601.25 million, a P/E ratio of -7.30 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.49.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 million. Arbutus Biopharma had a negative return on equity of 68.18% and a negative net margin of 1,137.65%. On average, analysts predict that Arbutus Biopharma Co. will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABUS shares. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a report on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Arbutus Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.50.

About Arbutus Biopharma

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.