BlackRock Inc. Invests $17.57 Million in Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. $ARCT

Key Points

• BlackRock initiated a major position in Arcturus Therapeutics, purchasing 2.61 million shares worth approximately $17.6 million and acquiring a 9.2% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 94.54% of ARCT.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive but mixed: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $23, including Roth Capital’s $41 target, alongside one sell rating.
• Arcturus reported a quarterly loss of $0.84 per share, beating estimates of a $1.00 loss, while revenue of $2.96 million came in below expectations. The clinical-stage biotechnology company is developing mRNA medicines and vaccines, including candidates for phenylketonuria and COVID-19.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,614,012 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $17,566,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 9.20% of Arcturus Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARCT. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,163 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 27.5% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,272 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 1,567 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 0.7% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 292,429 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,805,000 after buying an additional 2,098 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 163.4% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,169 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 3.3% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 89,219 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 2,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Arcturus Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.00.

Arcturus Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ARCT stock opened at $15.56 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $8.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.01. The stock has a market cap of $442.22 million, a PE ratio of -4.70 and a beta of 2.48. Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.50 and a 52-week high of $24.17.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.00) by $0.16. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 46.54% and a negative net margin of 317.62%.The business had revenue of $2.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. will post -3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arcturus Therapeutics 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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