HC Wainwright Has Bullish Forecast for ARQT Q2 Earnings

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) – HC Wainwright boosted their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a report released on Thursday, May 7th. HC Wainwright analyst D. Tsao now forecasts that the company will earn $0.04 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.02. HC Wainwright currently has a “Buy” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Arcutis Biotherapeutics’ current full-year earnings is $0.18 per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Arcutis Biotherapeutics’ Q3 2026 earnings at $0.06 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.17 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $0.79 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $1.39 EPS, FY2029 earnings at $1.83 EPS and FY2030 earnings at $2.09 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Price Performance

Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock opened at $20.66 on Friday. Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a 12 month low of $12.72 and a 12 month high of $31.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.17 and a quick ratio of 2.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of -688.44 and a beta of 1.58.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 1.47% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The company had revenue of $105.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.68 million.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 10.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,254,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,990,000 after buying an additional 1,144,714 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 11,964,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,435,000 after buying an additional 1,486,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,253,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,654,000 after buying an additional 107,846 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 5,556,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,351,000 after buying an additional 257,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,488,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,380,000 after buying an additional 846,986 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

In other Arcutis Biotherapeutics news, insider Larry Todd Edwards sold 3,687 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total value of $92,838.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 175,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,410,982.04. This represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick Burnett sold 6,287 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total value of $158,306.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 121,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,050,557. The trade was a 4.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 92,831 shares of company stock valued at $2,295,499 in the last three months. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Arcutis Biotherapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Commercial and clinical momentum: Q1 net product revenue for ZORYVE was $105.4M (up ~65% YoY), the company reported positive operating cash flow, submitted an sNDA to expand ZORYVE to infants 3–24 months, completed pediatric MUSE enrollment, initiated a Phase 1a/1b for ARQ‑234, and expanded the salesforce/primary care buildout — all support continued top‑line growth and pipeline optionality. Arcutis Announces First-Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Provides Business Update
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Needham reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $36 price target (mid‑$30s Street consensus / “Moderate Buy”), which underpins upside expectations versus current levels and can stabilize sentiment over the medium term. Needham Reaffirms Buy, $36 PT
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed Q1 financials: Revenue slightly beat estimates ($105.4M vs. ~$103.7M) but GAAP EPS missed materially (loss of $0.09 vs. expected loss of ~$0.02), highlighting ongoing margin/expense pressure as the company invests in growth. Q1 Loss, Revenue Beat (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call detail available: management commentary and slide deck / transcript provide additional context on commercialization cadence, seasonality, and SG&A investment — important for assessing whether EPS pressure is transitory. Earnings Presentation Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Clustered insider selling: multiple insiders — including directors and executives (Howard Welgus, Masaru Matsuda, Todd Watanabe, CFO Latha Vairavan and others) — sold shares in early May under pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans to cover tax on vested awards. Filings state routine/tax reasons, but the concentrated activity can create short‑term selling pressure. Insider Selling Details

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.