Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) Stock Price Down 5.8% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT) fell 5.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $19.44 and last traded at $19.44. 54,219 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 476,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.63.

Specifically, COO Pad Chivukula sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.76, for a total value of $249,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 435,334 shares in the company, valued at $9,037,533.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Arcturus Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.40.

Arcturus Therapeutics Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.50. The firm has a market cap of $554.80 million, a PE ratio of -5.27 and a beta of 2.61.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.85) by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $49.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.00 million. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 41.21% and a negative return on equity of 25.47%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.98) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. will post -2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Arcturus Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCT. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Arcturus Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Arcturus Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 3,283.5% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 3,579 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Arcturus Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $142,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 10.5% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 4,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.54% of the company’s stock.

Arcturus Therapeutics Company Profile

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc, a late-stage clinical messenger RNA medicines and vaccine company, focuses on the development of infectious disease vaccines and other products within liver and respiratory rare diseases. Its technology platforms include LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery and STARR mRNA.