Fred Alger Management LLC Purchases Shares of 36,313 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 acquired a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 36,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,723 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $84,000. Nkcfo LLC acquired a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $109,000. Finally, Allostery Investments LP bought a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $117,000.

Insider Activity at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

In related news, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.64, for a total transaction of $156,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 100,206 shares in the company, valued at $1,567,221.84. The trade was a 9.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Masaru Matsuda sold 36,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total transaction of $583,860.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 161,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,541.44. This represents a 18.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 133,771 shares of company stock worth $2,044,513. 9.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ARQT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.80.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of ARQT stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,129,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,446,822. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of -22.63 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a current ratio of 3.20. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $15.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.76. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.03 and a 52 week high of $18.15.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.70 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics 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.