Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) Trading Up 5.9% – Here’s Why

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT)’s stock price rose 5.9% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $20.71 and last traded at $20.19. Approximately 88,365 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 388,220 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ARCT shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.75.

Arcturus Therapeutics Stock Down 9.0 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $513.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.54 and a beta of 2.63.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by $0.44. The company had revenue of $41.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.16 million. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 36.39% and a negative return on equity of 22.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.61) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. will post -2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Pad Chivukula sold 12,000 shares of Arcturus Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.76, for a total transaction of $249,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 435,334 shares in the company, valued at $9,037,533.84. The trade was a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 15.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcturus Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,275,715 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $52,819,000 after purchasing an additional 712,650 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,101,038 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,765,000 after buying an additional 136,074 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 250.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 555,024 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,515,000 after acquiring an additional 396,505 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Arcturus Therapeutics by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 551,798 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,810,000 after acquiring an additional 5,789 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Arcturus Therapeutics by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 197,622 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,587,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.54% of the company’s stock.

About Arcturus Therapeutics

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.