Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) Shares Gap Up to $27.21

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $27.21, but opened at $29.08. Arcturus Therapeutics shares last traded at $28.19, with a volume of 28,215 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on ARCT shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Arcturus Therapeutics from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.33.

Arcturus Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $730.29 million, a P/E ratio of -26.94 and a beta of 2.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.10.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.69) by $1.37. The company had revenue of $33.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.14 million. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 18.22% and a negative net margin of 15.65%. On average, research analysts expect that Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. will post -2.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Pad Chivukula sold 8,565 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 490,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,185,813.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 13.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcturus Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 22,704 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $716,000 after buying an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Arcturus Therapeutics by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 15,550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew 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 worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,259 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,930 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. 94.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.