Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) Trading Up 9.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Arcturus Therapeutics' stock price surged by 9.3% on Tuesday, reaching a peak of $23.51 after previously closing at $21.51.
• Despite recent price hikes, analysts have lowered target prices with significant adjustments from Leerink Partners to $54 and from Wells Fargo to $42, while overall ratings trend towards a consensus of "Moderate Buy".
• The company reported earnings of ($0.34) per share, surpassing analyst estimates, and had revenues of $28.30 million for the last quarter, significantly exceeding the predicted $17.64 million.

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) was up 9.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $22.49 and last traded at $23.51. Approximately 293,694 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 528,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ARCT. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on Arcturus Therapeutics from $63.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Arcturus Therapeutics from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arcturus Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.57.

Arcturus Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $643.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.55 and a beta of 2.39.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.64 million. Research analysts anticipate that Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. will post -2.22 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 3.9% during the first quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,008,480 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $21,270,000 after purchasing an additional 74,629 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 3.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,748,928 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $18,521,000 after purchasing an additional 64,367 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 6.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 606,291 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,889,000 after purchasing an additional 36,671 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 9.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 509,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,398,000 after purchasing an additional 42,636 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $4,892,000. 94.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.