Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. $ARQT

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) by 65.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 154,566 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,212 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Arcutis Biotherapeutics were worth $3,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 11,964,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,435,000 after buying an additional 1,486,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,253,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,654,000 after buying an additional 107,846 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 5,556,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,351,000 after buying an additional 257,415 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,488,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,380,000 after buying an additional 846,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,340,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,041,000 after acquiring an additional 63,845 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ARQT. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insider Transactions at Arcutis Biotherapeutics

In related news, Director Sue-Jean Lin sold 4,946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total transaction of $120,583.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,083.46. This represents a 15.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 4,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.41, for a total value of $99,983.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $936,806.98. The trade was a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,787 shares of company stock valued at $565,846. 9.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARQT opened at $26.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -895.03 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.70. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.69 and a 52-week high of $31.77.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 1.41% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The company had revenue of $105.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.67 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Arcutis Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for immuno-inflammatory skin diseases. The company’s research and development efforts center on targeted treatments that address the underlying biology of conditions such as plaque psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis and vitiligo. Arcutis employs a precision-medicine approach to deliver topical therapies designed to improve efficacy and tolerability compared with existing treatment options.

In August 2022, Arcutis received U.S.