Arbutus (ABUS) Director Robert Beardsley Exercises Options

What Happened

• Robert A. Beardsley, a director of Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS), exercised stock options on Sept 18, 2026. He acquired 131,333 common shares from two option exercises — 52,533 shares at $3.20 (≈$168,106) and 78,800 shares at $4.24 (≈$334,112) — for an aggregate exercise cost of about $502,218.
• The company withheld 99,057 of those newly issued shares to satisfy the exercise price/tax liability (reported as a disposal valued at $5.07 each, ≈$502,219). After withholding, the net shares issued to Beardsley were 32,276. The filings also show the original options were cancelled upon conversion (standard for option exercises).

Key Details

• Transaction date: September 18, 2026; Form 4 filed September 23, 2026 (filed 5 days after the transaction — later than the typical 2 business‑day Form 4 deadline).
• Option exercises (code M): 52,533 shares @ $3.20; 78,800 shares @ $4.24. Total acquired: 131,333 shares.
• Withholding/payment (code F): 99,057 shares withheld @ $5.07 to cover exercise price/taxes (≈$502,219).
• Net new shares issued to insider: 32,276.
• Footnotes: (F1) withholding of 99,057 shares to satisfy exercise prices; (F2) one option (157,600 shares) vests 1/3 each year from March 18, 2025; (F3) the 78,800‑share option was fully vested and exercisable as of June 8, 2026.
• Shares owned following the transaction not provided in the excerpt.

Context

• This was an options exercise (M) with a cashless component: instead of selling shares on the open market, the company withheld shares to cover the exercise/tax amount — a common way to pay option costs without a cash payment.
• Such exercises are routine for option holders and do not necessarily signal a buy/sell intent in the public market. The withholding means Beardsley did not receive the full gross amount of issued shares.
• If you track insider activity for signals, note this is an option exercise + share withholding transaction rather than an open‑market purchase or sale.