Traders Buy Large Volume of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Call Options (NASDAQ:ACAD)

Key Points

• ACADIA Pharmaceuticals experienced a significant surge in call options trading, with purchases of 6,400 call options, marking a rise of approximately 567% compared to the average daily volume.
• Insider transactions included a 5.93% reduction in Director Elizabeth A. Garofalo's shares and a 7.45% decrease in EVP Mark C. Schneyer's shares, with a total of 27,098 shares sold by insiders in the last quarter.
• Despite positive earnings results, shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals traded down 11.0% during the session, closing at $20.99.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 6,400 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 567% compared to the average daily volume of 960 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elizabeth A. Garofalo sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.98, for a total transaction of $41,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $659,424.36. The trade was a 5.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 3,498 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.65, for a total value of $82,727.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,027,521.55. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,098 shares of company stock valued at $678,256. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 645.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 310,332 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,065,000 after purchasing an additional 268,714 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 4,770.1% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 43,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $716,000 after buying an additional 42,215 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,030 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 100.9% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 352,716 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,859,000 after buying an additional 177,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $247,000. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 11.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ACAD traded down $2.61 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.99. 2,295,961 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,150,515. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $13.40 and a 12 month high of $26.65. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.62.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $264.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $263.07 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 21.80%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ACAD. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.65.

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.

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