Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) Short Interest Up 59.0% in November

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,480,000 shares, a growth of 59.0% from the November 15th total of 1,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $2.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $8.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $8.80.

Aclaris Therapeutics Price Performance

ACRS traded down $0.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $3.27. 683,025 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,394,031. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.58 million, a P/E ratio of -6.29 and a beta of 0.45. Aclaris Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.80 and a 12-month high of $5.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.46 and a 200 day moving average of $1.64.

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

Insider Activity at Aclaris Therapeutics

In other news, Director Anand Mehra purchased 666,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 710,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,567.50. This trade represents a 1,537.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aclaris Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 846,446 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 72,309 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $1,053,000. Stonepine Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Aclaris Therapeutics by 27.6% in the third quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC now owns 2,458,873 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,828,000 after buying an additional 531,427 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $382,000 after buying an additional 216,826 shares during the period. Finally, BML Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Aclaris Therapeutics by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. BML Capital Management LLC now owns 14,250,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $16,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261,866 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company's stock.

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.