Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Eight brokerages rate Arcutis a "Moderate Buy" (5 buys, 2 holds, 1 sell) with an average 12‑month price target of $34 and several recent price‑target moves around $35.
• Insider activity: Insiders have been selling recently — Todd Watanabe sold 37,349 shares and CFO Latha Vairavan sold 2,853 on March 2 — and insiders disposed of 79,378 shares (~$1.98M) over the past 90 days while retaining 9.40% ownership.
• Quarterly results: The company beat expectations with EPS of $0.13 (vs. $0.03 est.) and revenue of $129.5M (vs. $110.8M est.), though it still shows a negative net margin and negative return on equity.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ARQT. Wall Street Zen cut Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Mizuho cut their target price on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th.

Insider Transactions at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

In other news, insider Todd Watanabe sold 37,349 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total value of $940,447.82. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 785,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,397.26. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Latha Vairavan sold 2,853 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total transaction of $71,838.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,209,645.72. This represents a 3.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 79,378 shares of company stock valued at $1,980,351 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARQT. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 248,196 shares of the company's stock worth $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 43,716 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 3.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,417 shares of the company's stock worth $1,118,000 after buying an additional 2,063 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 8.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,575 shares of the company's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 1,477 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 548,789 shares of the company's stock worth $7,694,000 after buying an additional 5,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 4,562.5% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 10,950 shares during the period.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Price Performance

ARQT stock opened at $23.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.75. The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -167.27 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a 12-month low of $12.42 and a 12-month high of $31.77.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.10. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 4.29% and a negative return on equity of 10.26%. The firm had revenue of $129.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.79 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Arcutis Biotherapeutics will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Arcutis Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for immuno-inflammatory skin diseases. The company's research and development efforts center on targeted treatments that address the underlying biology of conditions such as plaque psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis and vitiligo. Arcutis employs a precision-medicine approach to deliver topical therapies designed to improve efficacy and tolerability compared with existing treatment options.

In August 2022, Arcutis received U.S.

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