Key Points
- Major shareholder Braden Michael Leonard sold 300,000 shares on April 23 at an average price of $4.53 for $1,359,000, reducing his stake by 2.11% to 13,950,000 shares; the transaction was disclosed in an SEC Form 4 filing.
- Aclaris (NASDAQ:ACRS) trades around $4.41 with a 52‑week range of $1.16–$4.89 and a market cap of about $615.9M, and recently reported disappointing results (Q: EPS -$0.16 vs. -$0.15 est., revenue $1.3M vs. $2.07M est.) with deeply negative margins.
- Analyst coverage is mixed but tilted positive — consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with a $9.86 average target (individual targets $10–$16), while institutional ownership is very high at 98.34% with large recent purchases by firms like Millennium and Geode.
Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) major shareholder Braden Michael Leonard sold 300,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.53, for a total value of $1,359,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 13,950,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,193,500. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.
Aclaris Therapeutics Price Performance
NASDAQ ACRS opened at $4.41 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.15. Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.16 and a fifty-two week high of $4.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $615.90 million, a PE ratio of -8.32 and a beta of 0.67.
Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.01). Aclaris Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 52.04% and a negative net margin of 829.58%.The business had revenue of $1.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current year.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms have weighed in on ACRS. Craig Hallum began coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, January 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. UBS Group set a $10.00 target price on Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Aclaris Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $9.86.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on ACRS
Institutional Trading of Aclaris Therapeutics
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Aclaris Therapeutics by 108.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,464,779 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,042 shares during the last quarter. Kotler Kevin acquired a new position in Aclaris Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,135,000. Palo Alto Investors LP increased its position in Aclaris Therapeutics by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP now owns 1,566,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,977,000 after acquiring an additional 176,812 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Aclaris Therapeutics by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,506,403 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,534,000 after acquiring an additional 393,257 shares during the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Aclaris Therapeutics
(
Get Free Report)
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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