BlackRock Inc. Makes New $506.11 Million Investment in Arcus Biosciences, Inc. $RCUS

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired a new 16.4 million-share stake in Arcus Biosciences valued at approximately $506.1 million, representing 13.05% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 92.89% of RCUS.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with eight Buy, three Hold and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with a $37.80 price target.
• Arcus shares opened at $30.20, near their 52-week high, after the company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates. However, revenue fell 74.4% year over year, and insiders have sold about $3.06 million of stock over the past 90 days.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Arcus Biosciences, Inc. (NYSE:RCUS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,416,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $506,113,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 13.05% of Arcus Biosciences at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Arcus Biosciences by 309.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,184,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,547,000 after acquiring an additional 3,918,220 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Arcus Biosciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,731,000. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Arcus Biosciences by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 5,188,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500,000 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in shares of Arcus Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,380,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Arcus Biosciences by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,962,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333,421 shares during the period. 92.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RCUS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Arcus Biosciences in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Arcus Biosciences in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arcus Biosciences from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Arcus Biosciences in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Arcus Biosciences from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Alexander Azoy sold 2,827 shares of Arcus Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $84,810.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 39,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,187,430. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President Juan C. Jaen sold 48,502 shares of Arcus Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total value of $1,457,485.10. Following the sale, the president directly owned 842,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,311,325.35. This trade represents a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 105,389 shares of company stock worth $3,060,164. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Arcus Biosciences Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of RCUS stock opened at $30.20 on Tuesday. Arcus Biosciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.07 and a 1 year high of $31.74. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $28.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.74 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Arcus Biosciences (NYSE:RCUS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.72) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $41.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.98 million. Arcus Biosciences had a negative net margin of 393.16% and a negative return on equity of 89.54%. The firm's revenue was down 74.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arcus Biosciences, Inc. will post -3.53 EPS for the current year.

Arcus Biosciences Company Profile

Arcus Biosciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel cancer immunotherapies. The company's research platform centers on modulating tumor microenvironments and immune checkpoints through both small-molecule and antibody-based candidates. Arcus aims to enhance antitumor immune responses by targeting pathways such as the adenosine axis and inhibitory receptors on immune cells.

The company's lead clinical programs include etrumadenant, an orally administered A2A adenosine receptor antagonist being evaluated in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy, and domvanalimab, an anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody.

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