Zacks Research Upgrades Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Axsome Therapeutics to “Hold” from “Strong Sell,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $267.60.
• Axsome’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $0.99 per share versus the $0.89 consensus estimate and revenue of $218.38 million versus $221.11 million expected.
• Shares opened at $218.20, below the 50-day moving average of $233.99 but above the 200-day average of $205.84. Insiders sold roughly $46.7 million of stock over the past three months, while institutional investors own 81.49% of the company.

Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $258.00 price target on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $267.60.

Axsome Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AXSM opened at $218.20 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business's 50 day moving average price is $233.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.84. Axsome Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $111.54 and a 52 week high of $260.19. The stock has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.19 and a beta of 0.65.

Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.10). Axsome Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 265.55% and a negative net margin of 24.68%.The company had revenue of $218.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $221.11 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Axsome Therapeutics will post -2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Axsome Therapeutics

In related news, Director Mark Coleman sold 643 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.00, for a total value of $160,107.00. Following the sale, the director owned 30,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,566,861. This trade represents a 2.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Herriot Tabuteau sold 4,660 shares of Axsome Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.95, for a total transaction of $997,007.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,546,644.55. This trade represents a 39.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 200,766 shares of company stock valued at $46,685,646. Company insiders own 20.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Axsome Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 436,063 shares of the company's stock worth $79,643,000 after buying an additional 73,925 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Axsome Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $90,490,000. Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 63,390 shares of the company's stock worth $11,578,000 after acquiring an additional 14,137 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 2,553.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 49,466 shares of the company's stock worth $8,277,000 after acquiring an additional 47,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Axsome Therapeutics by 90.6% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 9,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 4,576 shares during the period. 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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