Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Trading 6.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT)’s stock price traded up 6.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $27.70 and last traded at $27.66. 1,808,224 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 15% from the average session volume of 1,566,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -922.66 and a beta of 1.48.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $105.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.67 million. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a negative return on equity of 1.41%. Equities analysts expect that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

In other news, insider Todd Watanabe sold 3,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total transaction of $74,890.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 720,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,017,025.55. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 4,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.41, for a total value of $99,983.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 38,378 shares in the company, valued at $936,806.98. This trade represents a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,931 shares of company stock worth $730,086. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $12,140,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,243,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,189,000 after purchasing an additional 294,994 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,850,000. Ally Bridge Group NY LLC acquired a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,396,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,319,000.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Arcutis Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for immuno-inflammatory skin diseases. The company’s research and development efforts center on targeted treatments that address the underlying biology of conditions such as plaque psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis and vitiligo. Arcutis employs a precision-medicine approach to deliver topical therapies designed to improve efficacy and tolerability compared with existing treatment options.

In August 2022, Arcutis received U.S.