Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 305,814 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $214,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 187.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 332,406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 216,826 shares in the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP purchased a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,081,000. Finally, Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $2,120,000. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Anand Mehra acquired 666,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2.25 per share, with a total value of $1,499,998.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 710,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,567.50. This represents a 1,537.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Aclaris Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $2.00 to $7.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BTIG Research raised Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.80.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACRS opened at $2.72 on Monday. Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $0.86 and a one year high of $5.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.23 and a beta of 0.45.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.03). Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 40.26% and a negative net margin of 136.65%. The company had revenue of $4.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.31 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aclaris Therapeutics 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.