Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) Receives "Sell (D-)" Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Sell (D-)" rating for Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT), reflecting a negative outlook on the stock.
• Despite the sell rating from Weiss, several analysts have issued conflicting ratings, including a "Buy" from Citigroup with a target price increase to $49.00.
• Arcturus Therapeutics reported better-than-expected earnings of ($0.34) per share, significantly outperforming consensus estimates of ($1.11) and indicating robust revenue growth of $28.30 million during the last quarter.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

ARCT has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Arcturus Therapeutics from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Arcturus Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. HC Wainwright started coverage on Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics from $63.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.57.

Arcturus Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ARCT stock traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.20. 982,377 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,553. The company's 50 day moving average price is $17.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.06. The company has a market cap of $575.79 million, a P/E ratio of -9.51 and a beta of 2.39. Arcturus Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $8.04 and a 12 month high of $23.59.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.11) by $0.77. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 49.26%.The firm had revenue of $28.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.64 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arcturus Therapeutics will post -2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcturus Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Arcturus Therapeutics by 4.9% during the second quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Arcturus Therapeutics by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,163 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 23,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,693 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 89.8% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the period. 94.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arcturus Therapeutics Company Profile

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc, a late-stage clinical messenger RNA medicines and vaccine company, focuses on the development of infectious disease vaccines and other products within liver and respiratory rare diseases. Its technology platforms include LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery and STARR mRNA.

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