Needham & Company LLC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM) Stock

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC raised its price target on Axsome to $255 (from $225) and maintains a "buy" rating, implying about a 23.47% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $222.18; most firms rate the stock "Buy" or "Outperform" and several brokers (UBS, RBC, Jefferies) recently raised targets.
• Insider selling has been substantial—100,288 shares (~$17.14M) sold in the last three months—while the company reported revenue of $196M (beat estimates, +65% YoY) but remains unprofitable with negative margins and continuing EPS losses.

Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $225.00 to $255.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price indicates a potential upside of 23.47% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $251.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Axsome Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.18.

Axsome Therapeutics Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AXSM traded down $1.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $206.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,255,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 676,222. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of -55.97 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $170.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Axsome Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $96.09 and a 12 month high of $217.00.

Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $196.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.33 million. Axsome Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 28.69% and a negative return on equity of 232.61%. The business's revenue was up 65.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Axsome Therapeutics will post -1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Axsome Therapeutics

In other news, Director Mark Coleman sold 25,000 shares of Axsome Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.11, for a total value of $4,027,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 47,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,594,725.40. The trade was a 34.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Herriot Tabuteau sold 32,410 shares of Axsome Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.60, for a total value of $6,015,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,341,702.40. This represents a 81.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 100,288 shares of company stock worth $17,138,187. Corporate insiders own 22.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axsome Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Axsome Therapeutics by 20,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 204 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Axsome Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Axsome Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in Axsome Therapeutics by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 288 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Axsome Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.49% of the company's stock.

Axsome Therapeutics Company 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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