Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Aclaris from "hold" to "sell" on Sunday, even though the consensus among analysts remains a Moderate Buy with a $9.80 target and several firms still issuing buy/outperform ratings.
• Aclaris missed its recent quarter (EPS of ($0.16) vs. ($0.15) expected and revenue $1.3M vs. $2.07M expected), carries deeply negative margins and forecasted EPS of -0.82 for the year; the stock trades around $4.04 with a ~$487M market cap.
• Institutional ownership is very high (98.34%), and major funds including Millennium, Invesco, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Geode materially increased their positions in recent quarters.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Friday, January 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.80.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ACRS opened at $4.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.22 million, a PE ratio of -7.62 and a beta of 0.67. Aclaris Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $1.08 and a 1 year high of $4.89.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.01). Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 829.58% and a negative return on equity of 52.04%. The company had revenue of $1.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 million. Analysts predict that Aclaris Therapeutics will post -0.82 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ACRS. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 409.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 57,079 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 45,864 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,134,148 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,325,000 after buying an additional 2,175,101 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 555,953 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 127,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 108.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,464,779 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,501,000 after buying an additional 1,282,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 623,792 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 125,071 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.34% of the company's stock.

About Aclaris Therapeutics

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc NASDAQ: ACRS is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel small‐molecule therapies for dermatologic diseases and related rare disorders. The company's pipeline includes several product candidates designed to address chronic inflammatory skin conditions and non‐melanoma skin lesions. Lead programs include ATI‐50002, a topical agent in late‐stage development for molluscum contagiosum removal; ATI‐50003 for common wart resolution; ATI‐1501, an oral JAK1/2 inhibitor targeting pruritic disorders; and ATI‐450, an oral MK2 inhibitor for inflammatory indications.

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Aclaris leverages proprietary chemistry platforms and translational research capabilities to advance multiple clinical and preclinical candidates.

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