Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) Short Interest Update

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,120,000 shares, a decrease of 16.1% from the February 29th total of 6,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Aclaris Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Aclaris Therapeutics by 20.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 44,650 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 7,448 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Aclaris Therapeutics by 58.5% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 26,282 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Aclaris Therapeutics by 18.1% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 55,194 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 8,469 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Aclaris Therapeutics by 44.2% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 81,965 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 25,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aclaris Therapeutics by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,728,820 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $47,045,000 after purchasing an additional 10,713 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, January 12th. HC Wainwright cut shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Aclaris Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.25.

Aclaris Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ACRS traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1.24. 599,308 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,196,337. The company has a market cap of $87.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.98 and a beta of 0.21. Aclaris Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.59 and a fifty-two week high of $11.12. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1.22 and its 200-day moving average is $2.57.

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $17.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.96 million. Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 283.15% and a negative return on equity of 64.56%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aclaris Therapeutics will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Aclaris Therapeutics Company Profile

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.