HighTower Advisors LLC Takes $445,000 Position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. $ACAD

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has invested $445,000 in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, acquiring 26,780 shares during the first quarter.
• Institutional investors own approximately 96.71% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, highlighting strong support from hedge funds and other entities.
• Analyst ratings for ACADIA Pharmaceuticals are generally favorable, with an average target price of $28.88 and multiple firms giving it a "buy" rating.

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 26,780 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,203,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $252,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,594 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $60,845,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,935,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $21,630,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 160.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,263,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $23,180,000 after acquiring an additional 778,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACAD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.88.

Insider Transactions at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Garofalo sold 1,600 shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,424.36. This trade represents a 5.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 22,000 shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total value of $553,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,010,473.40. The trade was a 35.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 28.30% of the company's stock.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of ACAD traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $25.63. The company had a trading volume of 770,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,160,505. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.40 and a 1-year high of $26.65. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.08.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.07 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 21.80%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.