Short Interest in Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) Rises By 27.4%

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,160,000 shares, an increase of 27.4% from the November 30th total of 2,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ACRS. HC Wainwright upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Leerink Partners raised shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $2.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $2.00 to $7.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aclaris Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $11.00.

Aclaris Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ ACRS traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $2.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 106,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,373,727. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.29 million, a P/E ratio of -4.96 and a beta of 0.45. Aclaris Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.86 and a 52-week high of $5.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.80.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.03). Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 40.26% and a negative net margin of 136.65%. The business had revenue of $4.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.31 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aclaris Therapeutics will post -0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aclaris Therapeutics

In related news, Director Anand Mehra bought 666,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $2.25 per share, with a total value of $1,499,998.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 710,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,567.50. This represents a 1,537.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aclaris Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $119,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $214,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 187.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 332,406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 216,826 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 846,446 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 72,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $1,053,000. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aclaris Therapeutics Company Profile

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of novel drug candidates for immune-inflammatory diseases in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Therapeutics and Contract Research. The Therapeutics segment is involved in identifying and developing therapies to address significant unmet needs for immuno-inflammatory diseases.