Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $13.50 and last traded at $13.07, with a volume of 1972404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Up 11.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.52. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.12 and a beta of 1.18.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.09. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 140.97% and a negative return on equity of 119.11%. The company had revenue of $44.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.05 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arcutis Biotherapeutics news, CFO David Joseph Topper sold 11,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total value of $110,214.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 158,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,501,385.52. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.65, for a total transaction of $86,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 171,944 shares in the company, valued at $1,487,315.60. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,951 shares of company stock worth $752,744. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARQT. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 30.7% in the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 9,816,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,306,672 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $12,159,000. Perceptive Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 107.8% in the second quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,558,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,494,000 after purchasing an additional 808,500 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 7.2% in the third quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 10,721,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,710,000 after purchasing an additional 717,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 9.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,641,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,467,000 after purchasing an additional 506,788 shares in the last quarter.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing treatments for dermatological diseases. Its lead product candidate is ARQ-151, a topical roflumilast cream that has completed Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of plaque psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.