ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": 20 analysts cover ACADIA with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (14 buy, 1 strong buy, 4 hold, 1 sell) and an average 1‑year price target of $31.21.
• Quarterly beat: ACADIA reported EPS of $1.60 vs. $0.12 expected and revenue of $298M (vs. $292.5M), showing a 9.4% YoY revenue increase and a net margin of 36.49%.
• Ownership activity: Insiders sold 10,689 shares (~$245,497) in the past three months (insider ownership 28.30%), while institutional investors hold 96.71% of the stock, including large new stakes from Braidwell, Norges Bank and Millennium.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.2105.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Transactions at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 2,709 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.20, for a total transaction of $60,139.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 62,836 shares in the company, valued at $1,394,959.20. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jennifer J. Rhodes sold 6,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.38, for a total transaction of $162,491.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,898.42. The trade was a 47.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,689 shares of company stock worth $245,497 in the last three months. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACAD. Braidwell LP bought a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,760,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $40,266,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2,052.1% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,483,235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,652,000 after buying an additional 1,414,315 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 390.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,648,864 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $35,187,000 after buying an additional 1,312,426 shares during the period. Finally, Logos Global Management LP bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $22,704,000. Institutional investors own 96.71% of the company's stock.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

ACAD stock opened at $21.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.25 and a 200-day moving average of $23.81. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $14.08 and a fifty-two week high of $28.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 23.09 and a beta of 0.83.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $1.48. The business had revenue of $298.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.54 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 36.49%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. Equities analysts predict that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.45 EPS for the current year.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Established in 1993 and headquartered in San Diego, California, ACADIA's research centers concentrate on conditions with significant unmet medical needs, including Parkinson's disease psychosis, Alzheimer's disease psychosis, and schizophrenia. The company utilizes a range of scientific platforms, including selective receptor modulation and precision-targeted compounds, to advance its portfolio of small-molecule therapeutics.

The company's flagship product, NUPLAZID® (pimavanserin), received U.S.

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