Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) Shares Down 6% – What’s Next?

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS)’s share price traded down 6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $5.75 and last traded at $5.7230. Approximately 916,115 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 1,956,714 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ACRS. Oppenheimer began coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Aclaris Therapeutics from $7.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group set a $10.00 target price on Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $11.50.

Aclaris Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $805.14 million, a P/E ratio of -10.29 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.31.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 million. Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 832.58% and a negative return on equity of 55.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRS. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $53,096,000. Rock Springs Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Rock Springs Capital Management LP now owns 4,472,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,772,000 after acquiring an additional 18,909 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,134,148 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175,101 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 108.4% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kalehua Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $6,871,000. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.