Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Hits New 1-Year High After Earnings Beat

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $25.30 and last traded at $25.3570, with a volume of 3608014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.64.

The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $81.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.70 million. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 62.62% and a negative net margin of 35.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ARQT shares. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $22.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.40.

Insider Activity at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

In other Arcutis Biotherapeutics news, insider Todd Watanabe sold 24,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.33, for a total value of $468,965.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 867,179 shares in the company, valued at $16,762,570.07. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Larry Todd Edwards sold 4,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total value of $90,260.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 178,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,585,095.88. The trade was a 2.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 154,386 shares of company stock valued at $2,640,187. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arcutis Biotherapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARQT. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 7,534.3% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,024,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,998,086 shares during the period. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $22,918,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 9,874,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,227 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $12,759,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 133.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,202,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,859,000 after purchasing an additional 687,562 shares during the period.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a current ratio of 3.20. The company has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of -33.27 and a beta of 2.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.69.

About Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing treatments for dermatological diseases. Its lead product candidate is ARQ-151, a topical roflumilast cream that has completed Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of plaque psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.