Todd Watanabe Sells 4,375 Shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Stock

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) insider Todd Watanabe sold 4,375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.12, for a total transaction of $114,275.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 717,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,733,342.36. The trade was a 0.61% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock opened at $26.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 125.86 and a beta of 1.49. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.69 and a twelve month high of $31.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.69.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.05. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 6.15%.The company had revenue of $129.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.85 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Arcutis Biotherapeutics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Needham raises price target: Needham & Company raised its price target on ARQT to $40 from $36 and reiterated a “Buy” rating, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. Benzinga analyst update
• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 results and higher guidance: Arcutis reported earnings of $0.11 per share, above estimates of $0.06-$0.09, while revenue of $129.9 million exceeded expectations of $118.9 million. Revenue increased 59% year over year and 23% sequentially, driven by demand for ZORYVE. Management raised 2026 net product sales guidance to $525 million-$540 million and reported positive operating cash flow. Arcutis second-quarter 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: Additional ZORYVE growth opportunities: The FDA approved ZORYVE cream for plaque psoriasis in children as young as two. The FDA also accepted an application for infants with atopic dermatitis, with a decision expected by February 2027. Results from a Phase 2 vitiligo study are expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. Arcutis business update
• Neutral Sentiment: Routine insider selling: Three executives sold a combined 6,560 shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. Because the sales were administrative and represented less than 1% of each executive’s holdings, they provide limited evidence of bearish conviction. SEC insider trading filing

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ARQT shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARQT. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 65,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 57,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 12,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 27,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period.

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.