Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) Short Interest Up 8.4% in August

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,800,000 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the July 31st total of 21,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.0 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Masaru Matsuda sold 5,220 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total value of $47,084.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 183,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,653,257.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.87, for a total value of $98,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 176,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,746,526.11. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Masaru Matsuda sold 5,220 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total transaction of $47,084.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 183,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,653,257.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,948 shares of company stock worth $253,210 over the last quarter. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 6,740.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4,044 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 55.2% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 7,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. bought a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $97,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arcutis Biotherapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.33.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARQT opened at $10.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 8.46, a quick ratio of 8.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.52. Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a 1 year low of $1.76 and a 1 year high of $13.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.58 and a beta of 1.18.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by $0.06. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 150.51% and a negative return on equity of 145.41%. The firm had revenue of $30.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.16) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arcutis Biotherapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

About Arcutis Biotherapeutics

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.