Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Invests $884,000 in Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. $AXSM

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund opened a new position in Axsome Therapeutics during the first quarter, buying 5,228 shares worth about $884,000.
• Institutional interest in AXSM remains high, with 81.49% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors, while several firms recently increased their stakes.
• Recent insider selling included CFO Nick Pizzie selling 33,000 shares and Director Susan Mahony selling 300 shares; meanwhile, analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $261.48.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXSM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $884,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC bought a new stake in Axsome Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,826,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Axsome Therapeutics by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 436,063 shares of the company's stock worth $79,643,000 after buying an additional 73,925 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Axsome Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $90,490,000. Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its holdings in Axsome Therapeutics by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 63,390 shares of the company's stock worth $11,578,000 after buying an additional 14,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 2,553.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 49,466 shares of the company's stock worth $8,277,000 after buying an additional 47,602 shares during the period. 81.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Axsome Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Nick Pizzie sold 33,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.09, for a total value of $7,922,970.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,867 shares in the company, valued at $10,291,938.03. The trade was a 43.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan Mahony sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total value of $71,163.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $267,810.09. This represents a 20.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 155,852 shares of company stock worth $37,230,112. Company insiders own 20.60% of the company's stock.

Axsome Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AXSM stock opened at $241.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -64.75 and a beta of 0.60. The company's 50 day moving average price is $238.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $200.32. Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.09 and a 52 week high of $260.19.

Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($1.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by ($0.41). Axsome Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 26.59% and a negative return on equity of 267.16%. The company had revenue of $191.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.10 million. The company's revenue was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXSM. Guggenheim upped their price target on Axsome Therapeutics from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $310.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $272.00 target price on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Axsome Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $261.48.

Axsome Therapeutics Profile

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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