Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) Stock Rating Upgraded by B. Riley Financial

Key Points

• B. Riley upgraded Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) to a "strong-buy", though analyst views remain mixed — MarketBeat shows one Strong Buy, eight Buy, three Hold and one Sell, with a consensus target price of $29.50 and an overall rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Shares opened at $6.72 with a market cap of $191 million after the company missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of ($1.03) vs. ($0.92) expected and revenue of $7.2 million vs. $14.32 million expected, and showing negative ROE and net margin.
• Arcturus is a clinical-stage biotech focused on mRNA medicines using its STARR and LUNAR platforms (pipeline includes ARCT-810 for PKU and ARCT-021 COVID vaccine), and institutional ownership is very high at 94.54%, with firms like ARK and Vanguard increasing stakes.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at B. Riley Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ARCT. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Arcturus Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics from $72.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Arcturus Therapeutics from $66.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.50.

Arcturus Therapeutics Stock Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:ARCT opened at $6.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $191.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.82 and a beta of 2.40. The company's 50 day moving average price is $7.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.59. Arcturus Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $5.85 and a 52 week high of $24.17.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($1.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.92) by ($0.11). Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 29.13% and a negative net margin of 80.19%.The firm had revenue of $7.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.32 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arcturus Therapeutics will post -2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcturus Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Arcturus Therapeutics by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,611,099 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $16,006,000 after purchasing an additional 738,378 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,026,588 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,423,000 after buying an additional 78,753 shares during the period. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,026,588 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,403,000 after buying an additional 78,753 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,885,605 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,752,000 after buying an additional 75,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 620,055 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $11,428,000 after acquiring an additional 327,626 shares in the last quarter. 94.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arcturus Therapeutics Company Profile

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing messenger RNA (mRNA) medicines that address a range of diseases. The company leverages its proprietary STARR® mRNA platform to enable precise control over mRNA expression, supported by its lipid nanoparticle delivery technology, LUNAR®. Arcturus's approach is designed to address both therapeutic and prophylactic applications, with an emphasis on vaccines and treatments for rare genetic and infectious diseases.

The company's pipeline includes ARCT-810, an mRNA therapeutic candidate for phenylketonuria (PKU), and ARCT-021 (also known as LUNAR-COV19), a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed in collaboration with Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.

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