Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) Upgraded at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler raised Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $3.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $2.00 to $7.00 in a report on Tuesday. BTIG Research raised shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aclaris Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.80.

Aclaris Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:ACRS opened at $3.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $271.44 million, a PE ratio of -7.31 and a beta of 0.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.39. Aclaris Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.77 and a 1-year high of $5.17.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $8.31 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aclaris Therapeutics will post -0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anand Mehra purchased 666,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2.25 per share, for a total transaction of $1,499,998.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 710,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,567.50. This trade represents a 1,537.37 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aclaris Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 69.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,843 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 13,461 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Aclaris Therapeutics by 5,265.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,772 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 61,602 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $119,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 10.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 241,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is 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.