Should I Buy ACRS? ACRS 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Aclaris Therapeutics Inc (ACRS) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Buy

Latest Price

3.460

1 Day change

-1.28%

52 Week Range

4.890

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/28

Buy now for a long-term position. The trend setup is bullish (stacked moving averages), options positioning is strongly call-skewed, and news flow adds a clear pipeline catalyst into 1H 2026 (ATI-2138 Phase 2b start). While fundamentals are still loss-making and recent revenue/margins weakened, the market is trading this as a pipeline story, and current price action suggests buyers are in control ahead of upcoming milestones.

Technical Analysis

Pre-market ~$3.88, holding above the key pivot (3.702). Trend is bullish with SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200, indicating sustained upward momentum. MACD histogram is positive (0.126) but contracting, suggesting the uptrend is intact but cooling rather than accelerating. RSI(6) ~56.7 is neutral (not overbought), which supports the case that the stock can continue higher without needing a major pullback first. Near-term levels: support S1 ~2.821 (deeper S2 ~2.278); resistance R1 ~4.583 then R2 ~5.126. A clean break above ~4.58 would be the next technical confirmation of continuation.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Options skew is aggressively bullish: open interest put/call at 0.06 implies far more call positioning than puts. Volume put/call at 0.43 also leans bullish, though absolute daily volume is light (10 contracts shown), so the signal is more about positioning than heavy day-trading flow. IV is elevated (30D IV ~199%, IV percentile ~74), consistent with the market pricing meaningful event/milestone risk and upside optionality.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

1) ATI-2138 preclinical update: rapid hair regrowth in a murine model (reported 87% regrowth at week 4 vs 48% for Pfizer’s Litfulo comparator cited in the summary), supporting enthusiasm for the alopecia program.
2) Event-driven catalyst: company plans to initiate a Phase 2b trial for ATI-2138 in 1H 2026 for additional alopecia indications.
3) Strong recent price action: shares noted as ~22.6% above the 20-day moving average and up ~58% over the past year, reflecting positive momentum.
4) Street support: cited 'Buy' rating and high average price target ($10.73) with HC Wainwright at $16.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

1) No Intellectia signal support today: AI Stock Picker shows no buy/sell intraday signal; SwingMax shows no recent entry signal.
2) Statistical forward look from pattern analogs is muted (small expected moves over 1D/1W and slightly negative over 1M), implying momentum may pause.
3) Upcoming earnings could be a volatility point: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-25 (pre-market), with EPS estimate around -0.15, which can swing sentiment depending on cash burn/runway commentary.

Financial Performance

Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3. Revenue fell to $3.30M (-24.09% YoY), and gross margin dropped to 25.77% (-42.21% YoY), showing weaker top-line and profitability mix. Net income improved to -$14.61M (92.64% YoY improvement, i.e., a smaller loss), and EPS improved to -$0.12 (9.09% YoY improvement). Overall: losses persist, but the loss profile improved while revenue and margins weakened—consistent with a development-stage biotech where valuation is driven primarily by pipeline progress.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Analyst stance in the provided summary is bullish: the stock is described as having a 'Buy' rating with an average price target of $10.73, and HC Wainwright & Co. is highlighted with a $16 target. Wall Street pros: pipeline-driven upside if ATI-2138 continues to translate into human efficacy and Phase 2b execution is solid; strong momentum and supportive targets can attract incremental capital. Cons: near-term fundamentals (revenue/margin decline, ongoing losses) mean the thesis depends heavily on clinical progress and trial timelines rather than current operating performance. No notable hedge fund/insider trend shifts were reported, and there is no recent Congress trading data.

5 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast ACRS stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for ACRS is 9.25 USD with a low forecast of 6 USD and a high forecast of 16 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

5 Buy

0 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 3.510

Low

Averages

9.25

High

Current: 3.510

Low

Averages

9.25

High

Piper Sandler

Biren Amin

Overweight

initiated

AI Analysis

2025-07-09

Reason

Piper Sandler

Biren Amin

Price Target

AI Analysis

2025-07-09

initiated

Overweight

Reason

Piper Sandler analyst Biren Amin assumed coverage of Aclaris Therapeutics with an Overweight rating and $6 price target. The shares are currently trading below the company's cash position with three data readouts over the next 12-15 months, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes each readout offers "meaningful upside" to Aclaris shares. Piper believes the company's lead program, bosakitug, has demonstrated proof of efficacy activity in a small Phase 2a study in moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.

Wedbush

NULL -> Outperform

initiated

2025-05-28

Reason

Wedbush

Price Target

2025-05-28

initiated

NULL -> Outperform

Reason

Wedbush initiated coverage of Aclaris Therapeutics with an Outperform rating and $8 price target.

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ACRS Should I Buy

ACRS Should I Buy

Should You Buy Aclaris Therapeutics Inc (ACRS) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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