Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,110,000 shares, a decrease of 23.6% from the February 28th total of 19,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.4 days. Approximately 14.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ARQT. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho raised 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. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Todd Franklin Watanabe sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.52, for a total value of $26,280.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 927,414 shares in the company, valued at $16,248,293.28. The trade was a 0.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Burnett sold 2,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.03, for a total value of $36,731.57. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 167,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,176,570.29. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,790 shares of company stock worth $801,630 over the last quarter. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcutis Biotherapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARQT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $291,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 280,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after buying an additional 3,409 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 126.5% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 290,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,053,000 after buying an additional 162,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 121,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 48,769 shares during the last quarter.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Down 2.2 %

Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock opened at $15.73 on Monday. Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $6.99 and a fifty-two week high of $17.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of -8.79 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.98 and its 200-day moving average is $12.26. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.19. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 119.11% and a negative net margin of 140.97%. The firm had revenue of $71.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.52 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arcutis Biotherapeutics 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.