Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) Short Interest Up 15.6% in January

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,920,000 shares, an increase of 15.6% from the January 15th total of 3,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ACRS. StockNews.com cut shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $2.00 to $7.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $3.00 to $13.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $2.00 to $7.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aclaris Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $11.00.

Aclaris Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ACRS opened at $2.33 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.08. Aclaris Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.95 and a 1 year high of $5.17. The stock has a market cap of $166.43 million, a PE ratio of -4.48 and a beta of 0.50.

Insider Activity at Aclaris Therapeutics

In related news, Director Anand Mehra acquired 666,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aclaris Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BML Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 9.7% during the third quarter. BML Capital Management LLC now owns 14,250,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261,866 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $23,876,000. Vivo Capital LLC bought a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $22,044,000. Rock Springs Capital Management LP lifted its position in Aclaris Therapeutics by 125.3% during the fourth quarter. Rock Springs Capital Management LP now owns 6,204,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,387,000 after purchasing an additional 3,450,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RA Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $11,573,000. Institutional investors own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

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.