Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD - Free Report) by 425.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 754,748 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 611,054 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals worth $12,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $29,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 627.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,513 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 3,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $168,000. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James Kihara sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.50, for a total value of $90,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $458,887.50. This represents a 16.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $50,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,250. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,271 shares of company stock valued at $525,079. Corporate insiders own 28.30% of the company's stock.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.5%

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.55. 2,089,066 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,980,505. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $21.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.57. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.40 and a twelve month high of $25.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.64.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $244.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.32 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 17.46% and a net margin of 22.97%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. Analysts anticipate that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACAD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.88.

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.