Is Arbutus Biopharma Corp (ABUS) Worthy of Your Portfolio?

Judging by the fact that Arbutus Biopharma Corp (NASDAQ:ABUS) has encountered declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of fund managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes in the third quarter. It’s worth mentioning that William Michaelcheck’s Mariner Investment Group got rid of the largest stake of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $0.3 million in stock, and Nathan Fischel’s DAFNA Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.3 million worth of shares.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Arbutus Biopharma Corp (NASDAQ:ABUS). These stocks are Cellectis SA (ADR) (NASDAQ:CLLS), FIRST FINANCIAL NORTHWEST, INC. (NASDAQ:FFNW), MVC Capital, Inc. (NYSE:MVC), and Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (USA) (NYSEAMEX:NAK). This group of stocks’ market valuations are similar to ABUS’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of eight funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $24 million. That figure was $89 million in ABUS’s case. Cellectis SA (ADR) (NASDAQ:CLLS) and MVC Capital, Inc. (NYSE:MVC) are the most popular stocks in this table. On the other hand FIRST FINANCIAL NORTHWEST, INC. (NASDAQ:FFNW) is the least popular one with only three bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Arbutus Biopharma Corp (NASDAQ:ABUS) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.

Disclosure: None