Sphera Funds Management LTD. Grows Position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD)

Sphera Funds Management LTD. boosted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 288,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,000 shares during the quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. owned 0.17% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals worth $5,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ACAD. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,519 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,093 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 73,048 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,669 shares during the period. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 3,498 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.60, for a total value of $51,070.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at $916,485.80. This trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Garofalo sold 4,919 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.23, for a total value of $89,673.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $320,756.85. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,994 shares of company stock valued at $313,131. Corporate insiders own 26.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.42.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ACAD traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $21.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,053,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,928,461. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19 and a beta of 0.47. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.40 and a 12-month high of $25.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $16.01 and its 200 day moving average is $17.16.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.01. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 25.83% and a net margin of 13.83%. The company had revenue of $244.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.32 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.