ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from “Buy” to “Hold,” though analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $31.34.
• ACADIA reported quarterly EPS of $0.18, beating estimates of $0.07, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year to $308 million; shares opened at $19.12, near their 52-week low.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 96.71%, led by new stakes from BlackRock and other investors, while company insiders sold approximately $1.02 million of stock over the past 90 days.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ACAD. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $14.50 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.34.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ACAD opened at $19.12 on Monday. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $18.39 and a 1 year high of $30.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 0.88.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $296.55 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 33.42%. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.64 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.22, for a total transaction of $417,612.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,981,934.16. The trade was a 17.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Elizabeth Thompson sold 16,558 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $432,660.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $496,313.22. The trade was a 46.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,699 shares of company stock valued at $1,019,894. 26.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $569,634,000. Palo Alto Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $72,461,629. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $32,900,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 47.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,343,868 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $74,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $19,244,000. 96.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for central nervous system disorders and rare diseases. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and serves patients and healthcare providers primarily in the United States.

ACADIA's commercial products include NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), an atypical antipsychotic approved in the United States for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis.

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