Lifesci Capital Initiates Coverage on Arcus Biosciences (NYSE:RCUS)

Key Points

• Lifesci Capital initiated coverage on Arcus Biosciences with an outperform rating and a $46 price target, implying about 83% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed but generally positive: the stock now has a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $35.10 average target, based on 8 Buy, 3 Hold, and 1 Sell ratings.
• Arcus recently reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, while insiders also sold shares in pre-arranged transactions and the stock traded at $25.10 on Thursday.

Investment analysts at Lifesci Capital began coverage on shares of Arcus Biosciences (NYSE:RCUS - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Lifesci Capital's price target suggests a potential upside of 83.27% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on RCUS. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Arcus Biosciences from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Arcus Biosciences in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Arcus Biosciences in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Arcus Biosciences from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arcus Biosciences from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.10.

Arcus Biosciences Price Performance

NYSE RCUS traded up $1.24 on Thursday, hitting $25.10. The company had a trading volume of 217,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,192,007. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of -7.88 and a beta of 0.85. The company's fifty day moving average price is $23.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. Arcus Biosciences has a 12-month low of $7.91 and a 12-month high of $28.72.

Arcus Biosciences (NYSE:RCUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $17.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.49 million. Arcus Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 68.97% and a negative net margin of 156.36%.Arcus Biosciences's revenue was down 39.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.14) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Arcus Biosciences will post -3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Arcus Biosciences

In related news, CFO Robert C. Goeltz II sold 7,763 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.63, for a total value of $198,965.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 84,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,157,046.43. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Alexander Azoy sold 2,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.77, for a total transaction of $66,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 39,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,020,002.37. This represents a 6.08% 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 own 9.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcus Biosciences

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Decheng Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arcus Biosciences by 242.3% in the third quarter. Decheng Capital LLC now owns 547,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,447,000 after purchasing an additional 387,609 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Arcus Biosciences in the third quarter valued at about $1,254,000. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Arcus Biosciences in the third quarter valued at about $5,147,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arcus Biosciences by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,629,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,161,000 after purchasing an additional 73,210 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Arcus Biosciences in the third quarter valued at about $4,418,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.89% of the company's stock.

About Arcus Biosciences

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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