Short Interest in Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT) Increases By 14.3%

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,810,000 shares, an increase of 14.3% from the March 15th total of 4,210,000 shares. Currently, 19.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 454,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ARCT. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.33.

Arcturus Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ ARCT traded up $1.20 on Tuesday, hitting $30.51. 162,066 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 449,856. The firm has a market capitalization of $821.33 million, a P/E ratio of -27.96 and a beta of 2.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.73. Arcturus Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $17.52 and a twelve month high of $43.81.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.69) by $1.37. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 18.22% and a negative net margin of 15.65%. The company had revenue of $33.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.14 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arcturus Therapeutics will post -1.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Pad Chivukula sold 8,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.01, for a total value of $299,860.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 490,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,185,813.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 13.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,082 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 22,704 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 15,550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 5.9% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,853 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 29.9% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 2,679 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. 94.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.