Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,380,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the May 31st total of 4,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 594,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.4 days. Approximately 17.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Arcturus Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCT opened at $21.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $590.57 million, a PE ratio of -5.61 and a beta of 2.64. Arcturus Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $17.52 and a fifty-two week high of $45.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.42.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.00) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $38.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.12 million. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.61% and a negative net margin of 81.59%. Research analysts predict that Arcturus Therapeutics will post -4.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Pad Chivukula sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total transaction of $1,040,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 447,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,902,394.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 13.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcturus Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,047,687 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,564,000 after purchasing an additional 146,141 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,088,930 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,336,000 after purchasing an additional 115,087 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 8.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 940,281 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,024,000 after purchasing an additional 74,081 shares in the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 450,366 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,200,000 after purchasing an additional 51,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Arcturus Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $6,531,000. Institutional investors own 94.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ARCT. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Arcturus Therapeutics from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.86.

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.