Brokerages Set Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) Target Price at $8.80

Shares of Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.80.

ACRS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $2.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $2.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Down 10.1 %

Aclaris Therapeutics stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $2.77. The stock had a trading volume of 657,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,387,736. The stock's 50 day moving average is $2.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.71. Aclaris Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.80 and a 1 year high of $5.17. The stock has a market cap of $197.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.33 and a beta of 0.45.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.03). Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 136.65% and a negative return on equity of 40.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.31 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aclaris Therapeutics will post -0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Aclaris Therapeutics news, Director Anand Mehra acquired 666,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2.25 per share, with a total value of $1,499,998.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 710,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,597,567.50. This represents a 1,537.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aclaris Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRS. Stonepine Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $2,120,000. Trium Capital LLP bought a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,081,000. BML Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Aclaris Therapeutics by 9.7% during the third quarter. BML Capital Management LLC now owns 14,250,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $16,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261,866 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,053,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 187.6% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 332,406 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 216,826 shares during the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by 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.