Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Leerink Partners

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) was upgraded by analysts at Leerink Partners from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $7.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $2.00. Leerink Partners’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 76.77% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ACRS. StockNews.com upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $2.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $3.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.80.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ACRS opened at $3.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.34. Aclaris Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.77 and a 52-week high of $5.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.86 million, a PE ratio of -7.23 and a beta of 0.10.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.31 million. Equities analysts forecast that Aclaris Therapeutics will post -0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aclaris Therapeutics

In related news, Director Anand Mehra acquired 666,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2.25 per share, for a total transaction of $1,499,998.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aclaris Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 69.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,843 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 13,461 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 5,265.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,772 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 61,602 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 10.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 241,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 23,747 shares during the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aclaris Therapeutics

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.