California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Position in Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. $AXSM

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: California State Teachers Retirement System raised its Axsome Therapeutics stake by 22.2% to 41,132 shares, while institutional investors collectively own 81.49% of the stock.
• Insiders have been selling: Executives and directors sold 151,102 shares worth approximately $36.1 million over the past 90 days, including a CFO sale of 33,000 shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: AXSM carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $265.55, despite reporting a quarterly EPS loss larger than expected. Revenue rose 57.4% year over year to $191.2 million.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXSM - Free Report) by 22.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 41,132 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,465 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Axsome Therapeutics worth $6,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Axsome Therapeutics by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,509,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,763,000 after purchasing an additional 472,422 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 84.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,334,560 shares of the company's stock worth $162,082,000 after buying an additional 609,516 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,273,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $232,591,000 after buying an additional 282,937 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,010,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $184,544,000 after acquiring an additional 12,549 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 958,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,058,000 after acquiring an additional 52,483 shares during the period. 81.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axsome Therapeutics

In other news, Director Mark Coleman sold 643 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.00, for a total transaction of $160,107.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,566,861. This represents a 2.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Nick Pizzie sold 33,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.09, for a total value of $7,922,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 42,867 shares in the company, valued at $10,291,938.03. This trade represents a 43.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,102 shares of company stock worth $36,147,341. 20.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer set a $280.00 target price on Axsome Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Axsome Therapeutics from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Axsome Therapeutics from $310.00 to $306.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $265.55.

Axsome Therapeutics Trading Up 0.3%

Axsome Therapeutics stock opened at $212.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $237.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.67. Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.11 and a 12 month high of $260.19. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of -57.06 and a beta of 0.65.

Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($1.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.41). Axsome Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 267.16% and a negative net margin of 26.59%.The firm had revenue of $191.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $191.10 million. Axsome Therapeutics's revenue was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

About Axsome Therapeutics

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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