Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) Shares Climb 7.5% – Still a Buy?

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS)’s stock price shot up 7.5% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $3.62 and last traded at $3.6550. Approximately 2,904,926 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 37% from the average session volume of 2,125,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACRS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $11.33.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Up 11.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $532.02 million, a PE ratio of -6.49 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.98.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.01. Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 61.65% and a negative net margin of 921.50%.The business had revenue of $1.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 million. Equities analysts expect that Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Aclaris Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Braidwell LP lifted its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 26.1% in the second quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 2,142,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,333,000 after acquiring an additional 443,232 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 4.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 267,498 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after buying an additional 10,342 shares in the last quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,535,045. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $584,000. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aclaris Therapeutics

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for immune-mediated diseases. The company’s research programs have centered on small-molecule treatments designed to address inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, including dermatologic and rheumatologic diseases.

Aclaris’ lead investigational program is zunsemetinib (ATI-450), an oral mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase 2 (MK2) inhibitor being evaluated for potential use in inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.