Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Acquires Shares of 20,825 Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. $AXSM

Key Points

• Lisanti Capital Growth acquired 20,825 Axsome Therapeutics shares worth approximately $5.1 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 81.49% of AXSM, with BlackRock also establishing a significant new position.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.60, despite ratings ranging from sell to strong buy.
• AXSM recently traded at $218.20 and reported a quarterly loss of $0.99 per share, missing expectations, while revenue of $218.38 million also came in slightly below analyst estimates.

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXSM - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,097,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXSM. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Axsome Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $759,695,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Axsome Therapeutics by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,509,870 shares of the company's stock worth $275,763,000 after buying an additional 472,422 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Axsome Therapeutics by 84.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,334,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,082,000 after buying an additional 609,516 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Axsome Therapeutics by 28.6% in 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 1.3% in the fourth 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. 81.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Nick Pizzie sold 33,000 shares of Axsome Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 42,867 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan Mahony sold 300 shares of Axsome Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $71,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,810.09. The trade was a 20.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 200,766 shares of company stock valued at $46,685,646. 20.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXSM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $272.00 price target on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $267.60.

Axsome Therapeutics Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:AXSM opened at $218.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $233.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.84. Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $111.54 and a 12-month high of $260.19.

Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.10). Axsome Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 265.55% and a negative net margin of 24.68%.The company had revenue of $218.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $221.11 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.78 EPS for the current year.

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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