Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) Short Interest Up 26.7% in March

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,030,000 shares, an increase of 26.7% from the February 28th total of 4,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 933,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.5 days. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aclaris Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRS. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,876,000. Vivo Capital LLC bought a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,044,000. Rock Springs Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Rock Springs Capital Management LP now owns 6,204,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,387,000 after buying an additional 3,450,814 shares in the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $11,573,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $6,985,000. Institutional investors own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright upgraded Aclaris Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.67.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ACRS stock opened at $1.53 on Tuesday. Aclaris Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.95 and a 52 week high of $5.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.12 million, a PE ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $2.05 and its 200-day moving average is $2.24.

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.