Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Trading Up 9.4% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) were up 9.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $14.49 and last traded at $14.66. Approximately 888,037 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 2,202,758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARQT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Up 9.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.23 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $13.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $71.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.52 million. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 119.11% and a negative net margin of 140.97%. As a group, research analysts predict that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Todd Franklin Watanabe sold 15,000 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.17, for a total transaction of $227,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 823,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,491,433.10. The trade was a 1.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.67, for a total value of $146,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 151,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,018.48. This represents a 6.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,848 shares of company stock worth $797,648. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning purchased a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $127,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 730.0% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 237,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after buying an additional 208,599 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 9.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $398,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 0.8% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,663,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,471,000 after acquiring an additional 91,803 shares in the last quarter.

About Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing treatments for dermatological diseases. Its lead product candidate is ARQ-151, a topical roflumilast cream that has completed Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of plaque psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.