ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) Short Interest Down 5.5% in December

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,360,000 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the November 30th total of 9,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,530,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.60.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 9.9 %

ACAD opened at $18.35 on Wednesday. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $14.15 and a twelve month high of $31.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.34.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $250.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.83 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 25.83% and a net margin of 13.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.40) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brendan Teehan sold 10,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $173,630.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 62,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,043,985.05. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark C. Schneyer sold 10,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $172,453.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,006.62. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,661 shares of company stock valued at $414,551 in the last quarter. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 42.3% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $81,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,999 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.