Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 168,826 Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. $ARQT

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group initiated a position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics, buying 168,826 shares valued at approximately $4.0 million, or about 0.13% of the company.
• Institutional ownership increased broadly, with Suvretta Capital, Vanguard, Polar Capital, State Street and Morgan Stanley all adding to their positions during the fourth quarter.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $34.00, although insiders sold 30,931 shares worth roughly $730,000 over the past 90 days.

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 168,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Arcutis Biotherapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 11,964,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,253,936 shares of the company's stock worth $210,654,000 after buying an additional 107,846 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its holdings in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 5,556,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $161,351,000 after buying an additional 257,415 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,488,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,380,000 after buying an additional 846,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,340,239 shares of the company's stock worth $126,041,000 after buying an additional 63,845 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 7,144 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $164,240.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,600 shares in the company, valued at $749,474. This represents a 17.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sue-Jean Lin sold 4,946 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total value of $120,583.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,567 shares in the company, valued at $672,083.46. This trade represents a 15.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 30,931 shares of company stock valued at $730,086 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARQT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.00.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARQT opened at $28.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -947.02 and a beta of 1.48. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.69 and a 1 year high of $31.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $25.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.70.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 1.41% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The firm had revenue of $105.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.67 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics 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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