Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Shares Up 8.7% – Here’s Why

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) rose 8.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.97 and last traded at $23.1760. Approximately 405,278 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 1,405,620 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARQT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Friday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of -167.21 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.92.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $129.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.79 million. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 10.26% and a negative net margin of 4.29%. Equities analysts anticipate that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

In related news, insider Larry Todd Edwards sold 3,687 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total value of $92,838.66. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 175,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,410,982.04. This trade represents a 2.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Watanabe sold 37,349 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total transaction of $940,447.82. Following the sale, the insider owned 785,957 shares in the company, valued at $19,790,397.26. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 163,733 shares of company stock valued at $4,204,675 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 325.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 698 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 209.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter.

About Arcutis Biotherapeutics

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.