Investors Purchase Large Volume of Arcturus Therapeutics Put Options (NASDAQ:ARCT)

Key Points

• Arcturus Therapeutics saw a significant surge in put options trading, with 15,396 put options purchased on a single day, representing a 550% increase over its average daily volume.
• Institutional investors are actively participating, with companies like Goldman Sachs and Invesco increasing their stakes in Arcturus Therapeutics during the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views, with ratings ranging from "strong buy" to "sell", while the average price target for the stock is set at $50.57.

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 15,396 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 550% compared to the average daily volume of 2,369 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcturus Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Arcturus Therapeutics by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 509,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,398,000 after acquiring an additional 42,636 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $299,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 83.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 34,896 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 15,836 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 144,141 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,526,000 after buying an additional 24,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on ARCT shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Arcturus Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Arcturus Therapeutics from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Arcturus Therapeutics from $63.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.57.

Arcturus Therapeutics Stock Performance

ARCT stock traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $21.76. The stock had a trading volume of 317,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,201. The stock has a market cap of $591.00 million, a PE ratio of -9.74 and a beta of 2.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.60. Arcturus Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $8.04 and a 52-week high of $23.59.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.11) by $0.77. The company had revenue of $28.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.64 million. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 49.26%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arcturus Therapeutics will post -2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arcturus Therapeutics Company Profile

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc, a late-stage clinical messenger RNA medicines and vaccine company, focuses on the development of infectious disease vaccines and other products within liver and respiratory rare diseases. Its technology platforms include LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery and STARR mRNA.

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