Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $5.15 and last traded at $4.9450, with a volume of 30986 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ACRS. Wedbush upped their price objective on Aclaris Therapeutics from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Aclaris Therapeutics from $7.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aclaris Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $11.29.

Aclaris Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $682.12 million, a PE ratio of -8.72 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3.98 and a 200 day moving average of $3.34.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 million. Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 55.89% and a negative net margin of 832.58%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aclaris Therapeutics

In related news, major shareholder Braden Michael Leonard sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $63,193,500. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aclaris Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 758,576 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after buying an additional 134,784 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Monashee Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $1,875,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Aclaris Therapeutics by 14.7% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 177,283 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 22,729 shares during the period. 98.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aclaris Therapeutics

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.