Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Trading 7.1% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT)’s stock price traded up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $19.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Arcutis Biotherapeutics traded as high as $15.25 and last traded at $15.40. 1,221,408 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 2,200,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.38.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arcutis Biotherapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 617.5% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,753,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,136 shares in the last quarter. Cercano Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $17,487,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 101.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,310,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,181,000 after buying an additional 1,162,690 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 11.7% in the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 10,966,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,990,000 after buying an additional 1,150,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,278,000.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Up 7.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.45 and a 200 day moving average of $11.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.65 and a beta of 1.48.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.09) 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 net margin of 140.97% and a negative return on equity of 119.11%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.