HC Wainwright Issues Negative Forecast for ARQT Earnings

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) – Analysts at HC Wainwright lowered their Q1 2027 earnings estimates for shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, November 5th. HC Wainwright analyst D. Tsao now anticipates that the company will earn $0.07 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.08. The consensus estimate for Arcutis Biotherapeutics’ current full-year earnings is $0.43 per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Arcutis Biotherapeutics’ Q2 2027 earnings at $0.14 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $0.22 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ARQT. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC set a $40.00 price objective on Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.75.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARQT opened at $27.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 128.58 and a beta of 1.66. Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $19.30 and a fifty-two week high of $34.80.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $143.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.59 million. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 14.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Montanova Capital LLC grew its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 0.9% in the second quarter. Montanova Capital LLC now owns 12,437,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,098,000 after acquiring an additional 110,000 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the second quarter worth $276,502,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at $78,330,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 1.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,854,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,684,000 after purchasing an additional 24,505 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at $36,989,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

In other news, Director Howard Welgus sold 4,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total transaction of $127,325.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $948,124.51. This represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Masaru Matsuda sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.32, for a total transaction of $1,372,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 111,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,819,438.48. This trade represents a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 123,932 shares of company stock valued at $3,553,077. 9.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Arcutis Biotherapeutics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arcutis enrolled its first participant in a Phase 3 trial testing ZORYVE cream 0.3% for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. Success could expand the treatment’s use, though any commercial benefit depends on trial results and timing. Phase 3 trial announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: The company appointed Rob Lisicki as chief commercial officer, a move that may support its commercial execution; the announcement did not specify an immediate financial impact. Chief commercial officer appointment
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS of $0.06 missed analyst expectations of about $0.17–$0.18, despite revenue of $143.92 million topping the $142.59 million estimate. The earnings shortfall has been associated with pressure on the shares. Article on Q3 earnings reaction
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright reduced its 2027 quarterly EPS forecasts: Q1 to $0.07 from $0.08, Q2 to $0.14 from $0.19, and Q3 to $0.22 from $0.25. These cuts add to concerns about the earnings outlook.

About Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and delivering treatments for dermatologic conditions. The company’s portfolio is centered on therapies designed to address inflammatory skin diseases, with an emphasis on nonsteroidal topical medicines that may help patients manage chronic conditions.

Arcutis’s lead product is ZORYVE (roflumilast), a topical phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor. ZORYVE has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for multiple dermatological uses, including plaque psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis and atopic dermatitis, in different cream and foam formulations.