Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,030,000 shares, an increase of 26.7% from the February 28th total of 4,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 933,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACRS has been the topic of several research reports. HC Wainwright upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.67.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aclaris Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 113.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 397,362 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 211,585 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Aclaris Therapeutics by 9.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 846,446 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 72,309 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $1,053,000. Peapod Lane Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $1,003,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. 98.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Down 6.0 %

Shares of ACRS traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1.40. The company had a trading volume of 812,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,173,025. Aclaris Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.95 and a 1-year high of $5.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.23. The stock has a market cap of $151.09 million, a PE ratio of -2.69 and a beta of 0.53.

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.