Short Interest in Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) Declines By 23.6%

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,110,000 shares, a decline of 23.6% from the February 28th total of 19,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.4 days. Currently, 14.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARQT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.80.

Insider Activity

In other Arcutis Biotherapeutics news, insider Masaru Matsuda sold 8,338 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.70, for a total transaction of $105,892.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 178,692 shares in the company, valued at $2,269,388.40. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.67, for a total value of $146,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 151,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,018.48. This trade represents a 6.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,099 shares of company stock worth $777,956 in the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the third quarter worth $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $140,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $104,000.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock opened at $15.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.74 and a beta of 1.48. Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a 1 year low of $6.99 and a 1 year high of $17.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $71.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.52 million. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 140.97% and a negative return on equity of 119.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arcutis Biotherapeutics will post -1.33 EPS for the current year.

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.