Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Shares Up 7.1% After Analyst Upgrade

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT)’s share price traded up 7.1% 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.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ARQT. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.80.

Insider Transactions at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

In related news, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 10,000 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $130,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 131,944 shares in the company, valued at $1,715,272. The trade was a 7.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Todd Franklin Watanabe sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.17, for a total value of $227,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 823,430 shares in the company, valued at $12,491,433.10. This represents a 1.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 57,848 shares of company stock worth $797,648. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcutis Biotherapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 9.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

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

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $71.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.52 million. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 140.97% and a negative return on equity of 119.11%. Equities analysts anticipate that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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.