Wall Street Zen Downgrades ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals to “hold” from “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $32.76 target price.
• ACADIA reported quarterly EPS of $0.18, exceeding the $0.07 estimate, while revenue reached $308 million, up 16.4% year over year and above expectations.
• The stock opened at $19.95, near its 12-month low of $19.59; insiders sold approximately $1.02 million of shares in the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 96.71% of the company.

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

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on ACAD. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.76.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.3%

ACAD opened at $19.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.89. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $19.59 and a twelve month high of $30.96. The company's 50-day moving average price is $27.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.13.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In other ACADIA Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Mark Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.22, for a total transaction of $417,612.24. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Elizabeth Thompson sold 16,558 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 90 days, insiders have sold 36,699 shares of company stock worth $1,019,894. Company insiders own 26.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the second quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,273 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 96.71% of the company's stock.

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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