Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) Stock Price

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $72.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential upside of 216.06% from the stock’s current price.

ARCT has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Arcturus Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arcturus Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.78.

Arcturus Therapeutics Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of Arcturus Therapeutics stock opened at $7.91 on Wednesday. Arcturus Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $5.85 and a 52 week high of $24.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.38. The company has a market capitalization of $224.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.22 and a beta of 2.40.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($1.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $7.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 million. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 28.68% and a negative net margin of 68.35%. On average, equities analysts expect that Arcturus Therapeutics will post -2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCT. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Arcturus Therapeutics by 51.8% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,163 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 163.4% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,169 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,586 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $111,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Arcturus Therapeutics by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Arcturus Therapeutics by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,760 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 2,313 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.54% of the company’s stock.

Arcturus Therapeutics Company Profile

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing messenger RNA (mRNA) medicines that address a range of diseases. The company leverages its proprietary STARR® mRNA platform to enable precise control over mRNA expression, supported by its lipid nanoparticle delivery technology, LUNAR®. Arcturus’s approach is designed to address both therapeutic and prophylactic applications, with an emphasis on vaccines and treatments for rare genetic and infectious diseases.

The company’s pipeline includes ARCT-810, an mRNA therapeutic candidate for phenylketonuria (PKU), and ARCT-021 (also known as LUNAR-COV19), a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed in collaboration with Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.