Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup cut ACADIA Pharmaceuticals’ price target from $40 to $33 while maintaining a “buy” rating; the new target implies roughly 45% upside from the referenced share price.
• ACAD shares fell 10.4% to $22.79, despite the company beating quarterly earnings and revenue expectations. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and average price target of $33.97.
• ACADIA’s remlifanserin Alzheimer’s psychosis study showed some favorable trends and a clean safety profile, but narrowly missed statistical significance on its primary endpoint, raising concerns about the drug’s Phase 3 prospects.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Citigroup from $40.00 to $33.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Citigroup's target price would suggest a potential upside of 44.77% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.97.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 10.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ACAD traded down $2.64 on Thursday, hitting $22.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,814,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,671,862. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.21. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $19.69 and a 1-year 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.11. The firm 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 business's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Thompson sold 16,558 shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $432,660.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $496,313.22. This trade represents a 46.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $417,612.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,981,934.16. The trade was a 17.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,699 shares of company stock valued at $1,019,894. 26.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACAD. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.71% of the company's stock.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ACADIA Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Acadia said the RADIANT study showed favorable trends in reducing hallucinations and delusions, particularly with the 60 mg once-daily dose, and concluded that the results support advancing remlifanserin into Phase 3. Acadia Phase 2 RADIANT results
• Positive Sentiment: The treatment’s safety profile was described as clean, which could support further clinical testing and reduce concerns about development-related safety risks. Remlifanserin Phase 2 data
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating and maintained a $41 price target, implying substantial upside from the referenced share price. Needham rating and price target
• Neutral Sentiment: The 60 mg dose performed better than placebo on the primary measure at six weeks, but the result narrowly missed statistical significance; management nevertheless plans to pursue Phase 3. Acadia mixed Alzheimer’s psychosis data
• Negative Sentiment: The failure to meet the main endpoint was viewed as a significant setback, sending ACAD shares lower as investors reassessed the probability of success for a potentially important pipeline asset. Reuters report on the mid-stage study
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and biotech commentators cited the low effect size, the statistical miss at the high dose, and concerns about replicating the benefit in Phase 3. One assessment reduced the estimated Phase 3 success probability to 25%. Analysis of remlifanserin’s prospects

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for neurological and psychiatric disorders. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and conducts research and commercial activities primarily in the United States.

ACADIA's marketed products include NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), an atypical antipsychotic approved for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis. The company also markets DAYBUE (trofinetide), a therapy for Rett syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder.

Founded in 1993, ACADIA continues to advance a pipeline of therapies for central nervous system conditions, including additional neurological and psychiatric disorders.

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