Aclaris Therapeutics initiated with an Outperform at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI initiated coverage of Aclaris Therapeutics with an Outperform rating and $22 price target. The immunology and inflammation, or I&I, space has been “a significant area of focus for investors this year,” says the analyst, who notes that Aclaris’ lead program, oral zunsemetinib, has Phase 2b rheumatoid arthritis data “imminent” in November. Ahead of that data, the firm says it thinks the stock could trade up 300% or more on positive data, with more upside after the short-term move, and down about 67% on negative data. The firm likes the setup heading into this “risky” binary data readout given what it calls “the asymmetric bet on zunsemetinib plus some embedded optionality with the pipeline,” the analyst added.