Insider Selling: Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) EVP Sells 1,219 Shares of Company Stock

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) EVP Masaru Matsuda sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.86, for a total value of $38,837.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 111,289 shares in the company, valued at $3,545,667.54. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Masaru Matsuda also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, November 4th, Masaru Matsuda sold 40,000 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.32, for a total value of $1,372,800.00.
• On Wednesday, September 16th, Masaru Matsuda sold 3,674 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $91,850.00.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Masaru Matsuda sold 9,989 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.03, for a total value of $250,024.67.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Trading Up 6.4%

Shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock traded up $2.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $34.05. The stock had a trading volume of 2,654,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,836,721. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 162.15 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.30 and a 1 year high of $34.80.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $143.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.59 million. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a return on equity of 15.05% and a net margin of 6.15%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Arcutis Biotherapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARQT. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the third quarter worth $2,628,000. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 5.7% in the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 1,003,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,625,000 after purchasing an additional 53,890 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $679,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $170,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 49,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 8,045 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ARQT shares. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.12.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Arcutis Biotherapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue was $143.92 million, slightly above analysts’ $142.59 million estimate, providing a positive counterpoint to the earnings shortfall. MarketBeat earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives sold shares to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. Most sales were relatively small; EVP Masaru Matsuda also sold 40,000 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his reported holdings by 26.44%. The stated tax-related and planned nature of the transactions makes them less clearly bearish, though the larger sale may draw investor attention. SEC insider filing
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted quarterly earnings were $0.06 per share, below consensus estimates of approximately $0.17–$0.18 and unchanged from a year earlier. The miss could weigh on sentiment despite the revenue beat. Zacks earnings report

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and delivering treatments for dermatologic conditions. The company’s portfolio is centered on therapies designed to address inflammatory skin diseases, with an emphasis on nonsteroidal topical medicines that may help patients manage chronic conditions.

Arcutis’s lead product is ZORYVE (roflumilast), a topical phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor. ZORYVE has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for multiple dermatological uses, including plaque psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis and atopic dermatitis, in different cream and foam formulations.