ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Stock Rating Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from “hold” to “buy.” The broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with 13 Buy ratings, five Hold ratings, and an average price target of $31.34.
• ACADIA shares opened at $19.74, well below their 52-week high of $30.96. The company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, reporting $0.18 in EPS versus a $0.07 estimate and $308 million in revenue.
• Insiders sold 36,699 shares worth approximately $1.02 million during the latest quarter, while institutional investors own 96.71% of the company’s stock.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. William Blair set a $33.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, September 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.34.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $19.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 0.88. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $24.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.86. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $18.39 and a 52-week high of $30.96.

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

Insider Activity

In other ACADIA Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Elizabeth Thompson sold 16,558 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total value of $432,660.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,994 shares in the company, valued at $496,313.22. This represents a 46.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.22, for a total value of $417,612.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,828 shares in the company, valued at $1,981,934.16. This represents a 17.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 36,699 shares of company stock valued at $1,019,894 over the last quarter. 26.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $50,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $104,000. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

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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