Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) Shares Up 6.6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped ~6.6% to $24.29 on Tuesday, but trading was thin — just 308,815 shares, a ~92% drop from the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed (seven Buy, seven Hold, two Sell) with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.15, below the current share price.
• Acadia beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.07 vs. $0.03 est.; revenue $821.46M vs. $800.10M) and issued FY‑2026 guidance of 1.30–1.55 EPS and Q1 guidance of 0.25–0.30 EPS.

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC - Get Free Report) shares traded up 6.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $24.23 and last traded at $24.29. 308,815 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 3,861,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ACHC shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Acadia Healthcare from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $14.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.15.

Acadia Healthcare Stock Up 6.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.98, a PEG ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.97 and a 200 day moving average of $18.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.04. Acadia Healthcare had a negative net margin of 33.29% and a positive return on equity of 6.53%. The firm had revenue of $821.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $800.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Acadia Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.300-1.550 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.250-0.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Acadia Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 54.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 43,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 74,907 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 2.8% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 31,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 42,502 shares of the company's stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the last quarter.

About Acadia Healthcare

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc NASDAQ: ACHC is a publicly traded provider of behavioral healthcare services headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. Founded in 2005, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish itself as a leading specialist in mental health and addiction treatment across the United States.

Acadia operates a diversified network of inpatient psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, outpatient clinics and intensive outpatient programs.

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