Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) Stock Price

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $72.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 244.83% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ARCT. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Arcturus Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Arcturus Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on Arcturus Therapeutics from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their price target on Arcturus Therapeutics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arcturus Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

Arcturus Therapeutics Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of Arcturus Therapeutics stock opened at $7.25 on Wednesday. Arcturus Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $5.85 and a 1 year high of $24.17. The company has a market cap of $206.05 million, a P/E ratio of -3.05 and a beta of 2.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.32.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($1.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $7.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 million. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 29.13% and a negative net margin of 80.19%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arcturus Therapeutics will post -2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Arcturus Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,163 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 163.4% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,169 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,586 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $111,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 27.5% in the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,760 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,313 shares during the last quarter. 94.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Arcturus Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Arcturus Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company reiterated clinical progress: Arcturus outlined launch of a 12‑week Phase II cystic fibrosis (CF) trial and said it expects regulatory clarity for ARCT‑810 in 2026, which supports longer‑term pipeline value. Arcturus outlines 12-week Phase II CF trial launch and expects regulatory clarity for ARCT-810 in 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Major sell‑side firms still carry sizable upside even after cuts — Piper Sandler kept an overweight rating and, despite lowering its target, the revised target implies significant upside versus the current price. This signals continued analyst conviction in the stock’s longer‑term recovery. Piper Sandler price target update (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Arcturus will present at the Leerink Partners 2026 Global Healthcare Conference (fireside chat on March 11), which gives management a platform to update investors on trials and regulatory timing. Arcturus Therapeutics to Attend Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in recent reports appear inconsistent/zeroed out (shows 0 shares and NaN increases), so there’s no reliable signal from short interest yet. Investors should treat those figures with caution.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results disappointed: EPS and revenue missed analysts’ expectations (revenue roughly $7.2M vs. ~$14.3M consensus) and margins remained negative — this is the primary near‑term catalyst pushing the stock lower. Arcturus Therapeutics Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results and Pipeline Progress
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and coverage changes: Several firms cut price targets substantially (examples include Citigroup and Piper Sandler reducing multi‑year targets), which increases near‑term downward pressure despite some retained buy/overweight ratings. Citigroup lowers price target on Arcturus (Tickerreport)

Arcturus Therapeutics Company Profile

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing messenger RNA (mRNA) medicines that address a range of diseases. The company leverages its proprietary STARR® mRNA platform to enable precise control over mRNA expression, supported by its lipid nanoparticle delivery technology, LUNAR®. Arcturus’s approach is designed to address both therapeutic and prophylactic applications, with an emphasis on vaccines and treatments for rare genetic and infectious diseases.

The company’s pipeline includes ARCT-810, an mRNA therapeutic candidate for phenylketonuria (PKU), and ARCT-021 (also known as LUNAR-COV19), a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed in collaboration with Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.