ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Reaches New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• ACADIA Pharmaceuticals fell to a new 52-week low of $19.05 after UBS Group downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral and set a $23 price target.
• Despite the downgrade, analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 13 analysts rate ACAD a Buy and five rate it Hold, with an average price target of $31.34.
• ACADIA reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including $0.18 in earnings per share and $308 million in revenue, up 16.4% year over year; however, insiders have sold 36,699 shares worth about $1.02 million in the past 90 days.

Shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after UBS Group downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. UBS Group now has a $23.00 price target on the stock. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals traded as low as $19.05 and last traded at $18.9650, with a volume of 20,693 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.41.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ACAD. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. William Blair set a $33.00 price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, September 28th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.34.

Insider Activity at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Mark Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.22, for a total value of $417,612.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,981,934.16. The trade was a 17.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Elizabeth Thompson sold 16,558 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total value of $432,660.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,313.22. This represents a 46.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 36,699 shares of company stock valued at $1,019,894 in the last 90 days. 26.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.71% of the company's stock.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $26.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.88.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.11. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 33.42% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The business had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for central nervous system disorders and rare diseases. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and serves patients and healthcare providers primarily in the United States.

ACADIA's commercial products include NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), an atypical antipsychotic approved in the United States for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis.

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