Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $32.24 and last traded at $31.4450, with a volume of 1,775,930 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ARQT. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Trading Up 10.2%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 151.22 and a beta of 1.57.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.05. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 15.05%. The firm had revenue of $129.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.85 million. As a group, analysts expect that Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Todd Watanabe sold 4,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.12, for a total transaction of $114,275.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 717,203 shares in the company, valued at $18,733,342.36. The trade was a 0.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. Also, insider Masaru Matsuda sold 9,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.03, for a total value of $250,024.67. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 116,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,908,035.46. This trade represents a 7.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 79,225 shares of company stock worth $2,015,966. 9.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcutis Biotherapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARQT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at $276,502,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,330,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,989,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $32,857,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $21,284,000.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: ARQT) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for dermatologic conditions. The company concentrates on medical dermatology, with an emphasis on addressing diseases that can significantly affect patients’ quality of life and for which additional treatment options are needed.

Arcutis’s primary commercial product is ZORYVE (roflumilast), a topical phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor available in multiple formulations.