Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 69,411 Shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. $ACAD

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. sharply increased its ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stake by 796.4% in the first quarter, buying 69,411 additional shares and lifting its position to 78,127 shares worth about $1.74 million.
• Several other hedge funds and institutional investors also adjusted their positions, and overall institutional ownership of ACADIA remains very high at 96.71%.
• Analysts are mostly positive on ACAD, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $32.59, even as the stock traded down 0.4% to $25.20 and the company recently missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD - Free Report) by 796.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 69,411 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 958 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 304.5% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 277.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,612 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. 96.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ACADIA Pharmaceuticals news, insider James Kihara sold 5,401 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.18, for a total value of $114,393.18. Following the sale, the insider owned 24,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $519,100.62. This trade represents a 18.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 3,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.79, for a total transaction of $76,395.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 66,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,441,299.55. This represents a 5.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 13,978 shares of company stock valued at $302,819 over the last 90 days. 26.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ACAD shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright cut shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.59.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4%

ACAD opened at $25.20 on Thursday. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.69 and a 12 month high of $28.35. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.03 and a 200 day moving average of $23.41.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $268.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $280.25 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 34.30%.The company's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Research analysts forecast that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Profile

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Established in 1993 and headquartered in San Diego, California, ACADIA's research centers concentrate on conditions with significant unmet medical needs, including Parkinson's disease psychosis, Alzheimer's disease psychosis, and schizophrenia. The company utilizes a range of scientific platforms, including selective receptor modulation and precision-targeted compounds, to advance its portfolio of small-molecule therapeutics.

The company's flagship product, NUPLAZID® (pimavanserin), received U.S.

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