Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Stock: Insider Masaru Matsuda Sells 40,000 Shares

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) EVP Masaru Matsuda sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.32, for a total transaction of $1,372,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 111,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,819,438.48. This represents a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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. 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 Monday, November 2nd, Masaru Matsuda sold 1,219 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.86, for a total transaction of $38,837.34.
• On Wednesday, September 16th, Masaru Matsuda sold 3,674 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $91,850.00.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Masaru Matsuda sold 9,989 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.03, for a total value of $250,024.67.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ ARQT opened at $27.00 on Friday. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.30 and a 1 year high of $34.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.58 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $143.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.59 million. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 5.88%. On average, research analysts forecast that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARQT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Guggenheim upped their price objective 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $40.00 target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.75.

Institutional Trading of Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARQT. Montanova Capital LLC boosted its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Montanova Capital LLC now owns 12,437,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,098,000 after acquiring an additional 110,000 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $276,502,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,330,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,854,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,684,000 after purchasing an additional 24,505 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,989,000.

Key Arcutis Biotherapeutics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arcutis began enrolling participants in a Phase 3 trial of ZORYVE cream 0.3% for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. Success could expand the treatment’s use and address a broader patient population, though the study is an early-stage catalyst rather than near-term revenue. Phase 3 study announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue was $143.92 million, modestly ahead of the approximately $142.6 million analyst consensus, providing a partial offset to the earnings miss. Quarterly earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Rob Lisicki was appointed chief commercial officer, effective November 4. The leadership change may support commercial execution, but its impact on sales remains to be seen. Chief commercial officer appointment
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives reported share sales, including a larger sale by EVP Masaru Matsuda under a pre-arranged trading plan. Some reported transactions were to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, which makes them less clearly bearish, though insider selling may attract investor attention. SEC insider filing
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings were $0.06 per share, well below analysts’ estimates of roughly $0.17–$0.18 and unchanged from a year earlier. The earnings miss was the clearest near-term pressure on the stock, despite the modest revenue beat. Report on the earnings miss

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.