Traders Buy Large Volume of Arcturus Therapeutics Put Options (NASDAQ:ARCT)

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 15,396 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 550% compared to the average daily volume of 2,369 put options.

Arcturus Therapeutics Stock Up 7.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCT opened at $23.16 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.74. Arcturus Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $8.04 and a twelve month high of $24.17. The company has a market cap of $629.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.39 and a beta of 2.39.

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.11) by $0.77. Arcturus Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 49.26%.The firm had revenue of $28.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.64 million. Analysts anticipate that Arcturus Therapeutics will post -2.22 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcturus Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 509,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,398,000 after acquiring an additional 42,636 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Arcturus Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $299,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 83.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 34,896 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 15,836 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Arcturus Therapeutics by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 144,141 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 24,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Arcturus Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Arcturus Therapeutics from $63.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arcturus Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Arcturus Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.57.

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.