Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT)

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 6,613 call options on the company. This is an increase of 194% compared to the average volume of 2,247 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their price target on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.31, for a total value of $93,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 180,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,956.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Patrick Burnett sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.75, for a total value of $201,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 209,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,835,688.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Howard G. Welgus sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.31, for a total value of $93,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 180,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,956.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,415 shares of company stock valued at $378,950 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARQT. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $462,000. Pennant Investors LP bought a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $552,000. AMI Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,421,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $888,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $628,000.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of ARQT stock opened at $9.81 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 9.61 and a current ratio of 9.89. Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a twelve month low of $1.76 and a twelve month high of $13.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.35 and a beta of 1.18.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by $0.28. Arcutis Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 197.28% and a negative net margin of 204.35%. The business had revenue of $49.57 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.31) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Arcutis Biotherapeutics will post -1.6 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.