Bollard Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. $ACRS

Bollard Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) by 34.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 804,445 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 421,031 shares during the quarter. Bollard Group LLC owned approximately 0.74% of Aclaris Therapeutics worth $2,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 9,894 shares during the period. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Performance

ACRS opened at $4.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $603.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.71 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.39 and a 200 day moving average of $3.66. Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.34 and a fifty-two week high of $5.15.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) last announced its quarterly 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. Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 832.58% and a negative return on equity of 55.89%. The business had revenue of $2.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ACRS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 27th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Guggenheim started coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Aclaris Therapeutics from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aclaris Therapeutics news, major shareholder Braden Michael Leonard sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.53, for a total transaction of $1,359,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Aclaris Therapeutics Company Profile

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.