Palo Alto Investors LP Buys 206,196 Shares of Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. $ACRS

Key Points

• Palo Alto Investors LP increased its stake in Aclaris Therapeutics by 36.2% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 206,196 shares to reach a total of 776,028 shares, valued at $1,187,000.
• Aclaris Therapeutics reported negative earnings per share of ($0.13) for the last quarter and had revenue of $1.78 million, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.34 million.
• Analysts have set various price targets for Aclaris Therapeutics, with an average target of $8.71, reflecting a generally favorable outlook, as eight analysts have issued a Buy rating.

Palo Alto Investors LP increased its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS - Free Report) by 36.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 776,028 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 206,196 shares during the period. Palo Alto Investors LP owned about 0.72% of Aclaris Therapeutics worth $1,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ACRS. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $6,985,000. Decheng Capital LLC grew its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 78.3% during the first quarter. Decheng Capital LLC now owns 4,041,736 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775,069 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 71.5% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 681,553 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 284,191 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 3,573.7% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 256,092 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 249,121 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 2,246.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 205,465 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 196,708 shares during the period. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ACRS. Piper Sandler began coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $8.71.

Aclaris Therapeutics Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ ACRS traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $2.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 749,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,806. Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1.05 and a 52-week high of $5.17. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $1.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.54. The firm has a market cap of $227.49 million, a P/E ratio of -1.53 and a beta of 0.27.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.13). Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 802.03% and a negative return on equity of 34.01%. The business had revenue of $1.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.82 EPS for the current fiscal 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.