Masaru Matsuda Sells 3,325 Shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Stock

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) insider Masaru Matsuda sold 3,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.95, for a total transaction of $92,933.75. Following the transaction, the insider owned 143,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,800.10. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Masaru Matsuda also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 2nd, Masaru Matsuda sold 8,733 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.30, for a total transaction of $220,944.90.
• On Monday, February 2nd, Masaru Matsuda sold 40,638 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.28, for a total transaction of $1,027,328.64.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Up 2.2%

Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock opened at $24.12 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.86 and a 1-year high of $31.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -172.27 and a beta of 1.66.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $129.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.79 million. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 10.26% and a negative net margin of 4.29%. On average, analysts predict that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Arcutis Biotherapeutics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline catalyst — Arcutis announced enrollment of the first participant in a Phase 1a/1b study of ARQ‑234 (CD200R agonist) to assess safety/tolerability in healthy volunteers and adults with moderate‑to‑severe atopic dermatitis. This is a meaningful development catalyst for future valuation if the program advances. ARQ‑234 Phase 1a/1b Enrollment
• Neutral Sentiment: Fund activity — Baron Health Care Fund filed Q4 activity; filings didn’t show a decisive, headline‑driven change in ARQT ownership that would clearly move the stock on its own. Baron Fund Q4 Activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports unreliable — multiple short‑interest entries in the feeds show 0 shares/NaN changes; treat those numbers as erroneous until exchange data confirms. No reliable short‑squeeze signal from current reports.
• Negative Sentiment: Clustered insider selling — Several insiders sold sizable blocks between Feb 27–Mar 2 (notable filings: Todd Watanabe ~37,349 shares; Masaru Matsuda, Patrick Burnett, CFO Latha Vairavan). Aggregated insider dispositions (tens of thousands of shares) likely weighed on sentiment and amplified selling. Representative filing (Watanabe): Watanabe Form 4 — CFO sale filing: CFO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade / pessimistic note — Coverage in the newsfeed reported a downgrade and a pessimistic near‑term forecast that coincided with a sharp intraday drop; that broker action amplified selling pressure. Shares Down After Analyst Downgrade — related pessimistic forecast item: Mizuho Pessimistic Forecast

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARQT. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 325.4% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 124.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 209.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $30,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARQT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.86.

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.