Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) Stock Price Up 7.4% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Arcturus Therapeutics' stock price increased by 7.4%, closing at $21.81 after trading as high as $22.13 on Friday, with a significant decline in daily trading volume.
• Analysts are generally optimistic, with eight giving a "Buy" rating and a consensus average target price of $50.57, despite recent earnings reporting a loss of $0.34 per share.
• Institutional investors have been actively increasing their stakes in Arcturus, with hedge funds owning 94.54% of the stock, indicating strong confidence in the company.

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 7.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $22.13 and last traded at $21.81. Approximately 205,448 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 483,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $49.00 target price (up previously from $47.00) on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Arcturus Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price objective on Arcturus Therapeutics from $63.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Arcturus Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $50.57.

Arcturus Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $606.65 million, a PE ratio of -9.95 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.66.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.11) by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $28.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.64 million. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 49.26%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. will post -2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcturus Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 51.8% during 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. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Arcturus Therapeutics by 89.8% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Arcturus Therapeutics by 218.9% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,393 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 2,329 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Arcturus Therapeutics by 163.4% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,169 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 2,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Arcturus Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $89,000. 94.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Arcturus Therapeutics

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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