HC Wainwright Has Negative Forecast for ARQT Q2 Earnings

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) – Research analysts at HC Wainwright cut their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, February 26th. HC Wainwright analyst D. Tsao now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $0.02 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.06. HC Wainwright has a “Buy” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Arcutis Biotherapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($1.33) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Arcutis Biotherapeutics’ Q3 2026 earnings at $0.05 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.19 EPS and FY2030 earnings at $2.20 EPS.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.10. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 4.29% and a negative return on equity of 11.01%. The business had revenue of $129.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.79 million.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $19.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.67.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ARQT stock opened at $28.57 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.26 and a 200 day moving average of $23.71. Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a 1 year low of $11.86 and a 1 year high of $31.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -204.06 and a beta of 1.70.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 325.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 209.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Todd Watanabe sold 19,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $505,741.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 721,306 shares in the company, valued at $18,393,303. This trade represents a 2.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Larry Todd Edwards sold 2,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $52,326.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 148,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,796,057.50. The trade was a 1.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 124,656 shares of company stock valued at $3,312,365. 9.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Arcutis Biotherapeutics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Reported a robust Q4: ZORYVE product revenue of $127.5M (+84% YoY) and full‑year ZORYVE sales of $372.1M (+123% YoY); company raised 2026 net product sales guidance to $480–$495M — a clear driver of upward momentum. Arcutis Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Provides Business Update
• Positive Sentiment: Beat EPS and revenue estimates: Q4 GAAP EPS $0.13 vs. consensus $0.03 and revenue ~$129.5M vs. $110.8M expected — the earnings beat and recurring revenue growth support a re-rating. ARQT Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Clinical and regulatory catalyst: positive topline data in a Phase 2 infant trial for ZORYVE with an sNDA submission expected in Q2 2026 — potential label expansion that could meaningfully grow addressable market. Arcutis Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Provides Business Update
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades: Needham raised its PT to $36 (buy) and TD Cowen raised its PT to $35 (buy), both implying >20% upside from current levels — these broker actions can drive buying interest. Needham Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Operational improvements: company produced positive operating cash flow in Q4 and expects to maintain positive operating cash flow quarterly going forward; also expanding dermatology sales and targeting primary care/pediatrics — supports sustainable commercialization. Business Update and Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall‑street commentary and analysis: bullish writeups (Seeking Alpha) highlight ZORYVE dominance and pipeline catalysts but note valuation is elevated (~9x forward EV/sales). Seeking Alpha Bull Case
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing/awareness initiatives: consumer awareness campaign (celebrity partnership) may help demand over time but is not an immediate revenue driver. Marketing Campaign
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data reported is internally inconsistent (zeros/NaN) and provides no actionable signal. (Ignore until clearer filings are available.)
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability metrics remain mixed: company still showed negative net margin and negative ROE in some reports, and some analysts project a net loss (consensus -1.33 EPS for the year) — these fundamentals temper the upside and could limit multiple expansion if growth slows. ARQT Stock Summary

About Arcutis Biotherapeutics

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.