Masaru Matsuda Sells 40,638 Shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) Stock

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQT) insider Masaru Matsuda sold 40,638 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.28, for a total value of $1,027,328.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 110,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,780,875.84. This trade represents a 26.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Masaru Matsuda also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 1st, Masaru Matsuda sold 1,657 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.23, for a total value of $50,091.11.
• On Wednesday, November 19th, Masaru Matsuda sold 2,550 shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.29, for a total value of $72,139.50.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARQT opened at $26.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of -72.42 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.46. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.13 and a 1-year high of $31.77.

Key Headlines Impacting Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Arcutis Biotherapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains constructive — multiple firms maintain Buy/outperform views and the consensus rating sits at a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target near $29.20, which can limit downside pressure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several institutional investors added or initiated positions in Q4 (examples: Independent Advisor Alliance, Virginia Retirement Systems, Trek Financial, RFG Advisory), indicating fresh demand from funds that could support the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Arcutis granted 94,000 restricted stock units to 12 newly hired employees under a Nasdaq inducement rule — a sign of hiring/expansion but also a small potential dilution source; impact is likely minor. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data appears anomalous (effectively zero in recent reporting) and is unlikely to be a meaningful immediate catalyst; treat the reading with caution. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Clustered insider selling — multiple executives and a director disclosed sales on Feb. 2–4, totaling sizeable transactions and >$1M in proceeds. Notable filings include Masaru Matsuda (40,638 shares at ~$25.28), Todd Watanabe (19,833 at ~$25.50), Director Howard Welgus (10,000 at ~$25.05) and CFO Latha Vairavan (1,320 at ~$25.50). Concentrated insider sales can amplify short-term negative sentiment and weigh on the stock. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ARQT. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Arcutis Biotherapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Arcutis Biotherapeutics from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARQT. Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in shares of Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 7,534.3% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,024,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,164,000 after buying an additional 1,998,086 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,254,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,714 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 9,874,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,227 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arcutis Biotherapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $15,711,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Arcutis Biotherapeutics by 133.5% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,202,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,859,000 after purchasing an additional 687,562 shares during the period.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Arcutis Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for immuno-inflammatory skin diseases. The company’s research and development efforts center on targeted treatments that address the underlying biology of conditions such as plaque psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis and vitiligo. Arcutis employs a precision-medicine approach to deliver topical therapies designed to improve efficacy and tolerability compared with existing treatment options.

In August 2022, Arcutis received U.S.