Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 96,991 Shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. $ARQT

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,146,090 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,991 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.83% of Arcutis Biotherapeutics worth $134,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 10.2% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 1,291.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 6,559 shares during the period. Atlas Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $138,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $145,000.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Trading Down 4.7%

NASDAQ ARQT opened at $23.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -168.56 and a beta of 1.66. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.86 and a 1 year high of $31.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.02 and a 200 day moving average of $24.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.17 and a quick ratio of 2.99.

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

Insider Activity at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

In other news, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total transaction of $250,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 59,744 shares in the company, valued at $1,496,587.20. This trade represents a 14.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Burnett sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.94, for a total value of $332,810.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 98,307 shares in the company, valued at $2,845,004.58. This trade represents a 10.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 175,233 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,485 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Arcutis Biotherapeutics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline update — Arcutis enrolled the first participant in a Phase 1a/1b study of ARQ‑234 (a CD200R agonist) to assess safety/tolerability in healthy volunteers and adults with moderate‑to‑severe atopic dermatitis. This is a clear development catalyst supporting longer‑term growth potential. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broker update — Mizuho trimmed its price target (reported moves show PT cut from $37 to $35) but retained an Outperform stance; that lowers near‑term upside while keeping analyst conviction intact. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fund filings — Baron Health Care Fund published Q4 activity (no clear large position change in ARQT reported), so fund flows aren’t a decisive driver based on available filings. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reporting in the feeds is inconsistent/erroneous (reports show 0 shares / NaN changes) and provides no reliable signal; treat those numbers as unreliable until clarified by exchange data.
• Negative Sentiment: Clustered insider selling — Multiple insiders sold shares between Feb 27–Mar 2 (notable filings: Todd Watanabe ~37,349 shares; Masaru Matsuda 8,733 shares plus earlier sales; CFO Latha Vairavan; Patrick Burnett). Aggregated insider dispositions total tens of thousands of shares and are likely weighing on sentiment because clustered sales often trigger investor concern. Representative filings: Watanabe Form 4 Read More., Matsuda Form 4 Read More., MarketBeat roundup Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade / negative note — Coverage cited in the newsfeed reports a downgrade and a pessimistic near‑term forecast that corresponded with a sharp intraday drop; that broker action appears to have amplified selling pressure. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARQT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.86.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Profile

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.