ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• ACADIA Pharmaceuticals' stock hit a new 52-week high of $25.45, demonstrating a notable increase in share price during recent trading.
• Analysts have shown confidence in ACADIA, with several firms raising their price targets, notably JPMorgan Chase & Co. increasing theirs from $30.00 to $34.00.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.16, surpassing expectations and reflecting a revenue increase of 9.4% year-over-year.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $25.45 and last traded at $25.37, with a volume of 564711 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ACAD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 26th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group set a $36.00 price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.88.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.4%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.44. The company has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 0.70.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 21.80%. The company had revenue of $264.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James Kihara sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.50, for a total value of $90,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,395 shares in the company, valued at $458,887.50. This represents a 16.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $50,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,553,250. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,446 shares of company stock worth $454,634 over the last 90 days. 26.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,203,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $252,526,000 after buying an additional 1,255,594 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $60,845,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,024,097 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $65,238,000 after purchasing an additional 69,584 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the first quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,769,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $46,007,000 after purchasing an additional 54,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,700,125 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $49,547,000 after purchasing an additional 574,251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.71% of the company's stock.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization innovative medicines that address unmet medical needs in central nervous system (CNS) disorders and rare diseases in the United States. The company offers NUPLAZID (pimavanserin) for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis; and DAYBUE, a novel synthetic analog of the amino-terminal tripeptide of insulin-like growth factor 1 for treatment of Rett Syndrome.