Driehaus Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. $AXSM

Key Points

• Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired 214,139 shares of Axsome Therapeutics, valued at approximately $24.97 million, representing a 0.43% ownership stake in the company.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for Axsome Therapeutics, with price targets ranging from $150 to $190 per share.
• Insider transactions included sales of 20,000 shares by Director Roger Jeffs and 25,000 shares by COO Mark L. Jacobson, significantly reducing their respective ownership positions.

Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXSM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 214,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,975,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned about 0.43% of Axsome Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXSM. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Axsome Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Axsome Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Axsome Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Axsome Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Axsome Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. 81.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Axsome Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $184.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $177.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Hunter R. Murdock sold 7,500 shares of Axsome Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.26, for a total transaction of $751,950.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mark L. Jacobson sold 25,000 shares of Axsome Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.44, for a total value of $2,761,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $638,674.52. The trade was a 81.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,172 shares of company stock valued at $13,386,040 over the last three months. Company insiders own 22.40% of the company's stock.

Axsome Therapeutics Stock Performance

AXSM traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $122.46. 133,114 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 760,870. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.09. Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.56 and a 12 month high of $139.13. The stock has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.15 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.00) by $0.08. Axsome Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 283.22% and a negative net margin of 49.88%.The company had revenue of $150.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.02 million. Analysts anticipate that Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Axsome Therapeutics Company Profile

Axsome Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of novel therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders in the United States. The company's commercial product portfolio includes Auvelity (dextromethorphan-bupropion), a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist with multimodal activity indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder; and Sunosi (solriamfetol), a medication indicated to the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea.