Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) Shares Down 6.1% - What's Next?

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) fell 6.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $18.78 and last traded at $18.78. 135,496 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 473,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ARCT. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Leerink Partners started coverage on Arcturus Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Arcturus Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arcturus Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $71.40.

Arcturus Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $511.71 million, a P/E ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 2.61.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.85) by $1.21. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 41.21% and a negative return on equity of 25.47%. The company had revenue of $49.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.98) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. will post -2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Pad Chivukula sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 435,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,037,533.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 13.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcturus Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Arcturus Therapeutics by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,841 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,918,000 after purchasing an additional 17,491 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,930 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Arcturus Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Arcturus Therapeutics by 148.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,516 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 10,454 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in Arcturus Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $1,846,000. 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.