Insider Selling: Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Insider Sells $74,890.92 in Stock

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) insider Todd Watanabe sold 3,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total transaction of $74,890.92. Following the transaction, the insider owned 720,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,017,025.55. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.

Todd Watanabe also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 2nd, Todd Watanabe sold 37,349 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total value of $940,447.82.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARQT opened at $21.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -705.43 and a beta of 1.58. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.72 and a fifty-two week high of $31.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $105.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.68 million. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 1.41% and a negative net margin of 0.57%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Arcutis Biotherapeutics

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

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright maintained a Buy rating and $34 price target on Arcutis Biotherapeutics while raising near-term EPS estimates for 2026 quarters, reinforcing the view that earnings could improve as ZORYVE sales scale. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Needham also reiterated its Buy rating with a $36 target, helping sentiment by signaling that analysts still see meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: The company reported a $105.4 million quarterly revenue beat and highlighted strong ZORYVE momentum, including commercial growth and pipeline progress, which remains a key driver for investor enthusiasm. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Arcutis announced inducement grants to 40 new hires, a routine equity compensation move that signals continued hiring but is not likely to materially change the stock’s near-term outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright’s mix of higher and lower out-year estimates suggests analysts remain constructive overall, but are still fine-tuning the longer-term earnings model. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS missed expectations, showing Arcutis is still spending heavily as it grows; that profitability gap could limit upside if investors focus on margins rather than sales growth. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, which is routine, but clustered selling can still weigh on sentiment in the short term. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARQT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 27th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arcutis Biotherapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

Institutional Trading of Arcutis Biotherapeutics

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

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Company 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.