Acadian Asset Management LLC Purchases 451,044 Shares of Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. $ACRS

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 25.9%, owning 2,195,191 shares worth approximately $3.36 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Multiple large investors, including Millennium Management LLC and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., also boosted their stakes, indicating significant institutional interest in Aclaris Therapeutics.
• Aclaris Therapeutics' stock has a current average price target of $8.71 and a consensus rating of "Buy" from analysts, reflecting positive expectations for the company's future performance.

Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS - Free Report) by 25.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,195,191 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 451,044 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 2.03% of Aclaris Therapeutics worth $3,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 555,953 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 127,366 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,134,148 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,325,000 after acquiring an additional 2,175,101 shares during the last quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP now owns 776,028 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 206,196 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 223.3% during the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 175,900 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 121,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ACRS. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $8.71.

Aclaris Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of ACRS traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $1.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,041,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 845,909. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.91 million, a P/E ratio of -1.39 and a beta of 0.27. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.54. Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1.05 and a 12-month high of $5.17.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13). Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 802.03% and a negative return on equity of 34.01%. The company had revenue of $1.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 million. Analysts expect that Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

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.