Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXSM) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Nineteen analysts give Axsome an average rating of "Moderate Buy" (17 buys, 2 sells) with a one-year average target of about $216.12.
• Heavy insider selling: CEO and COO recently sold large stakes; insiders disposed of 289,279 shares (~$49.5M) in the last 90 days while still owning 22.40% of the company.
• Quarterly beat but still unprofitable: Axsome reported ($0.56) EPS vs. consensus (−$0.70) and revenue of $196.0M (above $191.33M), with revenue up 65% year-over-year despite a negative net margin (~28.7%).

Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $216.1176.

Several brokerages have commented on AXSM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Axsome Therapeutics from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Herriot Tabuteau sold 32,410 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.60, for a total value of $6,015,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,341,702.40. The trade was a 81.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mark L. Jacobson sold 35,378 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.88, for a total value of $5,726,990.64. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 289,279 shares of company stock valued at $49,496,963. 22.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Birchview Capital LP increased its position in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Birchview Capital LP now owns 6,061 shares of the company's stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Axsome Therapeutics by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Xponance LLC lifted its position in Axsome Therapeutics by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Axsome Therapeutics by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,442 shares of the company's stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Axsome Therapeutics by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,190 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.49% of the company's stock.

Axsome Therapeutics Price Performance

Axsome Therapeutics stock opened at $156.08 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.30 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $175.92 and a 200-day moving average of $149.90. Axsome Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $86.99 and a 1 year high of $191.50.

Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.70) by $0.14. Axsome Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 28.69% and a negative return on equity of 232.61%. The business had revenue of $196.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.33 million. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Axsome Therapeutics will post -2.79 EPS for the current year.

Axsome Therapeutics Company Profile

Axsome Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing novel therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The company focuses on small-molecule drugs designed to address unmet medical needs in areas such as depression, migraine, narcolepsy and fibromyalgia. Axsome employs a precision medicine approach, leveraging pharmacologic innovation to target underlying mechanisms of disease and improve patient outcomes.

Axsome's pipeline includes several late-stage and approved product candidates.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.