Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 1,951,550 Shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. $ACAD

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. has reduced its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 53.3%, now holding approximately 1.02% of the company, valued at about $36.9 million.
• The stock of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has seen a recent decline of 1.3% and traded at $24.42 with a market capitalization of $4.12 billion.
• Numerous analysts have issued mixed ratings and price targets for ACADIA, with the consensus price target currently at $29.65 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD - Free Report) by 53.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,711,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,951,550 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 1.02% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals worth $36,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,255,594 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the first quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,769,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $46,007,000 after acquiring an additional 54,899 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 73.7% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,977,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,845,000 after acquiring an additional 838,728 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 1,055.8% during 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 buying an additional 1,491,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,375,213 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $22,842,000 after buying an additional 142,847 shares during the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ACAD. UBS Group increased their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.65.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ACAD traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.53. 1,738,704 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,918,114. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.75. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.40 and a twelve month high of $26.65. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $24.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.60.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ACADIA Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 22,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,010,473.40. This trade represents a 35.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Garofalo sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.98, for a total value of $41,568.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $659,424.36. The trade was a 5.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,098 shares of company stock valued at $678,256 in the last quarter. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.