Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM) Trading Up 12.4% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares spiked 12.4% intraday, trading as high as $217 with volume of ~1.31M shares (about 105% above average), last around $206.81.
• Analysts are largely positive: the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $218.65 and multiple buy/strong-buy price targets in the $217–$230 range.
• Recent results showed a beat—Q4 revenue of $196M (up 65% YoY) and EPS of -$0.56 vs. -$0.70 est.—but the company remains unprofitable with a negative net margin and negative return on equity.

Shares of Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) were up 12.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $217.00 and last traded at $206.8090. Approximately 1,309,912 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 105% from the average daily volume of 640,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AXSM shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Truist Financial raised shares of Axsome Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho set a $230.00 target price on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.65.

Axsome Therapeutics Trading Up 12.9%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $170.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.30 and a beta of 0.48.

Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $196.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.33 million. Axsome Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 28.69% and a negative return on equity of 232.61%. Axsome Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up 65.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Coleman sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.11, for a total transaction of $4,027,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 47,140 shares in the company, valued at $7,594,725.40. This trade represents a 34.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Mark L. Jacobson sold 35,378 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.88, for a total transaction of $5,726,990.64. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,288 shares of company stock valued at $17,138,187. 22.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axsome Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 6.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,180,646 shares of the company's stock worth $507,739,000 after acquiring an additional 235,626 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC acquired a new stake in Axsome Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $1,826,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Axsome Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,125,000. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Axsome Therapeutics by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 94,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,495,000 after buying an additional 12,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Axsome Therapeutics by 107.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 44,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,367,000 after buying an additional 22,914 shares during the last quarter. 81.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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