Fred Alger Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. $ARQT

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC purchased 36,313 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, valued at approximately $568,000, indicating institutional interest in the company.
• Insider Todd Watanabe sold 9,625 shares while Director Howard G. Welgus sold 10,000 shares, suggesting insider activity may influence investor perception.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” for Arcutis Biotherapeutics, with a price target of $19.80, reflecting positive market sentiment.

Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARQT. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,723 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $1,112,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 93.4% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 48,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 23,503 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $345,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $303,000.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Price Performance

Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,406,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,498,146. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $15.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.71. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.03 and a 1 year high of $18.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 3.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.05 and a beta of 1.93.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 62.62% and a negative net margin of 35.40%.The business had revenue of $81.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.70 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

In other news, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 10,139 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.37, for a total transaction of $135,558.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 109,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,462,865.18. The trade was a 8.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Masaru Matsuda sold 36,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total transaction of $583,860.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 161,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,541.44. The trade was a 18.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 133,771 shares of company stock worth $2,044,513. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARQT has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a report on Friday, July 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.80.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing treatments for dermatological diseases. Its lead product candidate is ARQ-151, a topical roflumilast cream that has completed Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of plaque psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.