ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank Of Canada Analyst Says

Key Points

• Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada raised the price target for ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 68.14% from its current stock price.
• ACADIA reported $0.16 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $264.57 million, which reflects a 9.4% increase year-over-year.
• Insider transactions revealed a substantial decrease in holdings for Director Laura Brege, who sold 14,446 shares, while institutional investors hold 96.71% of the stock.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price suggests a potential upside of 62.60% from the company's previous close.

ACAD has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Mizuho raised their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.88.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of ACAD traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $24.60. 1,667,971 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,695,475. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $22.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.27. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $13.40 and a 12 month high of $25.23.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James Kihara sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.50, for a total transaction of $90,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $458,887.50. The trade was a 16.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Brege sold 14,446 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.78, for a total value of $314,633.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,095 shares in the company, valued at $328,769.10. This trade represents a 48.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,446 shares of company stock valued at $454,634. Company insiders own 26.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 36,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% during the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 4,260 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 46,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,519 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,465 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.