Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) Stock Falls 8.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) dropped 8.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $5.32 and last traded at $5.2550. Approximately 320,982 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,002,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACRS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Lifesci Capital assumed coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aclaris Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.33.

Aclaris Therapeutics Trading Up 2.3%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.91. The company has a market capitalization of $752.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.28 and a beta of 0.79.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.01. Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 61.65% and a negative net margin of 921.50%.The firm had revenue of $1.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.65 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACRS. Braidwell LP raised its stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 2,142,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,333,000 after acquiring an additional 443,232 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Aclaris Therapeutics by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 267,498 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 10,342 shares during the period. Palo Alto Investors LP acquired a new stake in Aclaris Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,535,045. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $584,000. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aclaris Therapeutics

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: ACRS) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases. The company’s research programs are centered on potentially addressing conditions in which existing treatments have limited effectiveness or tolerability.

Aclaris has developed a pipeline that has included zunsemetinib, an oral mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase 2 (MK2) inhibitor being studied for inflammatory diseases, and other small-molecule therapies targeting immune and inflammatory pathways.