Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) Stock Price Target Raised at Leerink Partners

Key Points

• Leerink Partners raised Arcturus Therapeutics’ price target from $13 to $19 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 47.63% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $22, although some firms maintain “sell” or “hold” views.
• Arcturus reported a quarterly loss of $0.84 per share, better than the expected $1.00 loss, while revenue of $2.96 million fell short of estimates; institutional investors own 94.54% of the stock.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Leerink Partners from $13.00 to $19.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Leerink Partners' price target indicates a potential upside of 47.63% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ARCT. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arcturus Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, October 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Arcturus Therapeutics Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCT opened at $12.87 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $12.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.26. Arcturus Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $5.50 and a 52 week high of $24.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $365.77 million, a P/E ratio of -3.89 and a beta of 2.48.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.00) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 million. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 46.54% and a negative net margin of 317.62%. Analysts predict that Arcturus Therapeutics will post -3.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Arcturus Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Arcturus Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $17,566,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Arcturus Therapeutics by 12.9% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,288,935 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $17,671,000 after buying an additional 262,347 shares in the last quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 12.9% in the first quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,288,935 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $17,648,000 after buying an additional 262,347 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 23.8% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 346,207 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,327,000 after buying an additional 66,528 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $1,976,000. 94.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arcturus Therapeutics

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing medicines based on messenger RNA (mRNA) and other RNA technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company uses its proprietary LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery platform and STX self-amplifying mRNA technology to design and deliver RNA-based therapeutics and vaccines.

The company's research and development activities address rare diseases, infectious diseases, respiratory conditions and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

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