Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.2857.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Craig Hallum started coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Friday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 27th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group set a $10.00 price target on Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 16th.

Insider Transactions at Aclaris Therapeutics

In related news, major shareholder Braden Michael Leonard sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.53, for a total value of $1,359,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,950,000 shares in the company, valued at $63,193,500. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aclaris Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRS. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 111.0% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,134,148 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,325,000 after acquiring an additional 2,175,101 shares during the last quarter. Kalehua Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $6,871,000. Kotler Kevin acquired a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,135,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Aclaris Therapeutics by 108.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,464,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,501,000 after buying an additional 1,282,042 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $2,428,000. Institutional investors own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ACRS stock opened at $4.58 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $4.21 and its 200-day moving average is $3.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $639.64 million, a PE ratio of -8.18 and a beta of 0.76. Aclaris Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.34 and a 52 week high of $5.15.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 million. Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 55.89% and a negative net margin of 832.58%. As a group, analysts forecast that Aclaris Therapeutics will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Aclaris Therapeutics

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ:ACRS) is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel small‐molecule therapies for dermatologic diseases and related rare disorders. The company’s pipeline includes several product candidates designed to address chronic inflammatory skin conditions and non‐melanoma skin lesions. Lead programs include ATI‐50002, a topical agent in late‐stage development for molluscum contagiosum removal; ATI‐50003 for common wart resolution; ATI‐1501, an oral JAK1/2 inhibitor targeting pruritic disorders; and ATI‐450, an oral MK2 inhibitor for inflammatory indications.

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Aclaris leverages proprietary chemistry platforms and translational research capabilities to advance multiple clinical and preclinical candidates.