ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $37.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.56.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of ACAD opened at $16.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.01. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $14.15 and a fifty-two week high of $32.59.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $250.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.83 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 25.83%. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.40) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Brendan Teehan sold 9,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total transaction of $145,679.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,264.56. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Schneyer sold 9,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total value of $148,720.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,735 shares in the company, valued at $668,270.80. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 51,014 shares of company stock valued at $779,494. 28.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 210,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,894,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 34,752 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 2,034 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $48,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 20,689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 10.0% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 33,583 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 3,048 shares during the period. 96.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.