Arcturus Gets Citi Upgrade After Positive Liver Disease Study Data – But BTIG Says Therapy’s Benefit Is Hard To Measure

• Arcturus is developing ARCT-810 for patients with OTCD, a rare genetic disorder in which the liver cannot properly remove toxic ammonia from the blood.
• ARCT-810 was generally safe and well tolerated in a Phase 2 study.
• BTIG said the exact degree of ARCT-810’s benefit was difficult to determine because patients were already taking ammonia-lowering drugs.

Arcturus Therapeutics (ARCT) was in focus Thursday after promising Phase 2 data for its experimental treatment for a rare liver disease drew broadly positive takes from analysts.

ARCT shares were up nearly 7% at the time of writing, bucking the broader biotech weakness. The State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) was down 0.6%.

Citi Sees Over 40% Upside Potential

Citi upgraded Arcturus to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ and upped the price target to $20 from $8, according to The Fly. This represents around 41% upside from current levels.

Arcturus is developing ARCT-810 for patients with Ornithine Transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD), a rare genetic disorder in which the liver cannot properly remove toxic ammonia from the blood.

Arcturus said ARCT-810 was generally safe and well tolerated in a Phase 2 study. The treatment helped keep fasting ammonia levels within the normal range, including when patients increased their protein intake. It also reduced glutamine levels, another important marker of the disease.

Citi said the results established human proof of concept.

BTIG Lowers ARCT Target

Meanwhile, BTIG was more cautious, noting that the exact extent of ARCT-810’s benefit was difficult to determine because patients were already taking ammonia-lowering drugs. However, the firm viewed the reductions in glutamine as “unique.”

The brokerage maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock but lowered the target to $20 from $23.

Next-Generation Drug Takes Center Stage

Arcturus also introduced ARCT-2601, its next-generation treatment for the same disease using its new LUNAR 2.0 mRNA delivery technology.

In animal studies, LUNAR 2.0 produced 30 times as much protein as its earlier technology. Arcturus believes this could allow ARCT-2601 to be given at lower doses or less frequently. Citi called ARCT-2601 the company’s “clear go-forward product.”

Retail Sees Benefits Of Lunar 2.0

Retail sentiment surrounding ARCT turned ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘neutral’ over the past 24 hours, amid ‘high’ message volume.

One user stated that Lunar 2.0 could help Arcturus expand into other therapeutic targets and additional liver indications.

Another user said that while the data wasn’t a “blowout,” it’s “good long-term news.”

The stock has surged more than 125% so far in 2026.

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