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

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) was the target of a large 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 currently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research raised shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $2.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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, November 19th. StockNews.com cut Aclaris Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aclaris Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Performance

ACRS opened at $2.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $166.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.48 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $2.66 and its 200 day moving average is $2.10. Aclaris Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.95 and a fifty-two week high of $5.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anand Mehra bought 666,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2.25 per share, with a total value of $1,499,998.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 710,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,567.50. This trade represents a 1,537.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aclaris Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ACRS. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $82,000. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aclaris Therapeutics Company Profile

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.