Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Shares Down 4.7% – Here’s Why

Shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) traded down 4.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $24.42 and last traded at $24.9050. Approximately 609,744 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 1,621,528 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ARQT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.57.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 118.36 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.37.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.05. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 15.05%. The firm had revenue of $129.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.85 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Terrie Curran sold 38,200 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.03, for a total value of $956,146.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,855.78. The trade was a 61.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Watanabe sold 4,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.12, for a total transaction of $114,275.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 717,203 shares in the company, valued at $18,733,342.36. The trade was a 0.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders sold 75,551 shares of company stock worth $1,924,116 in the last three months. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARQT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the second quarter worth $276,502,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $78,330,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $36,989,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the second quarter worth about $32,857,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $26,136,000.

About Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for immune-mediated dermatological conditions. The company’s research and development activities are centered on therapies intended to address significant unmet needs in inflammatory skin diseases.

Arcutis’s primary commercial product is ZORYVE (roflumilast), a topical, nonsteroidal phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor. The product is available in multiple formulations and strengths for certain patients with plaque psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis and atopic dermatitis.