Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 50,055 Shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. $ACAD

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 33.3%, acquiring an additional 50,055 shares in the first quarter, bringing their total ownership to 200,289 shares valued at approximately $3.3 million.
• ACADIA Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.16, exceeding analyst expectations and showing 9.4% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a price target averaging $28.88.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD - Free Report) by 33.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 200,289 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 50,055 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals worth $3,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,203,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $252,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,594 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $60,845,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,935,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 1,055.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,632,749 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,375,213 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $22,842,000 after acquiring an additional 142,847 shares in the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 22,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total transaction of $553,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,130 shares in the company, valued at $1,010,473.40. This represents a 35.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Brege sold 14,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.78, for a total value of $314,633.88. Following the sale, the director owned 15,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,769.10. The trade was a 48.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 28.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ ACAD traded down $0.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $25.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,322,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,025,328. The company's fifty day moving average price is $23.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.00. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.40 and a 12 month high of $26.65. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 0.75.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 21.80%.The firm had revenue of $264.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ACAD. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $35.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.88.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization innovative medicines that address unmet medical needs in central nervous system (CNS) disorders and rare diseases in the United States. The company offers NUPLAZID (pimavanserin) for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis; and DAYBUE, a novel synthetic analog of the amino-terminal tripeptide of insulin-like growth factor 1 for treatment of Rett Syndrome.