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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from “buy” to “hold.” Despite the downgrade, analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with a $31.34 average price target.
• ACADIA reported quarterly EPS of $0.18, beating the $0.07 consensus, while revenue of $308 million exceeded expectations and grew 16.4% year over year.
• The stock opened at $20.57, near its 52-week low of $18.39; an executive also sold 3,321 shares in a disclosed transaction.

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on ACAD. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group cut shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.34.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ACAD opened at $20.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 0.87. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $18.39 and a 1 year high of $30.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.38 and a 200-day moving average of $23.67.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $308.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $296.55 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 33.42% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The company's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Mark Schneyer sold 3,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $69,342.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 71,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,489,203.36. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 26.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,658,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,234,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 27.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,553,770 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $34,587,000 after purchasing an additional 332,325 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $1,123,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $1,783,000. 96.71% of the stock is currently 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 and neuropsychiatric disorders. The company's research programs target conditions with significant unmet medical needs, including neurological and rare neurodevelopmental diseases.

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

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