Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.33.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ACRS. Wall Street Zen lowered Aclaris Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 21st.

Institutional Trading of Aclaris Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ACRS. Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $814,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $1,495,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Aclaris Therapeutics by 88.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 511,461 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,914,000 after buying an additional 240,611 shares during the period. Kalehua Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $6,871,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $5,507,000. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Down 13.3%

NASDAQ ACRS opened at $3.70 on Wednesday. Aclaris Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.74 and a 52 week high of $6.60. The company has a market capitalization of $517.33 million, a P/E ratio of -6.38 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $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 (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 million. Research analysts anticipate that Aclaris Therapeutics will post -0.62 EPS for the current year.

Aclaris Therapeutics Company Profile

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.