Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $5.70 and last traded at $5.53, with a volume of 2625 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ACRS shares. UBS Group set a $10.00 price target on Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer started coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from $7.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aclaris Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $11.50.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.86. The firm has a market cap of $766.04 million, a PE ratio of -9.81 and a beta of 0.76.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 million. On average, analysts forecast that Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aclaris Therapeutics

In other Aclaris Therapeutics news, major shareholder Braden Michael Leonard sold 300,000 shares of Aclaris Therapeutics stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 13,950,000 shares in the company, valued at $63,193,500. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aclaris Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACRS. Rock Springs Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Rock Springs Capital Management LP now owns 4,472,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $16,772,000 after buying an additional 18,909 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Aclaris Therapeutics by 111.0% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,134,148 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,325,000 after buying an additional 2,175,101 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Aclaris Therapeutics by 108.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,464,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,501,000 after buying an additional 1,282,042 shares during the period. Kalehua Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $6,871,000. Finally, Kotler Kevin acquired a new stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,135,000. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.