Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. $ACAD

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 22.0%, acquiring 43,523 shares, bringing its total ownership to 241,323 shares valued at approximately $4 million.
• Several hedge funds have also increased their holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, with institutional investors collectively owning 96.71% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have set increased price targets for ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, with Royal Bank Of Canada raising their target from $39 to $40, reflecting a generally positive outlook for the stock.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD - Free Report) by 22.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 241,323 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 43,523 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.14% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals worth $4,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 231.5% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,317 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,618 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 627.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,513 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 3,030 shares during the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $24.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned 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, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.88.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:ACAD traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $26.23. 2,210,997 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,017,302. The business's fifty day moving average is $23.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.90. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a one year low of $13.40 and a one year high of $26.65. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.70.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The firm had revenue of $264.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 22,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total transaction of $553,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,010,473.40. This represents a 35.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Brege sold 14,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.78, for a total transaction of $314,633.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $328,769.10. This represents a 48.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 26.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

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.