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

StockNews.com lowered shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $37.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.56.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of ACAD traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $16.57. The stock had a trading volume of 317,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,898. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $14.15 and a 12 month high of $32.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.55 and a 200 day moving average of $16.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 0.38.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $250.40 million for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.40) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark C. Schneyer sold 9,733 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total transaction of $148,720.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,270.80. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brendan Teehan sold 9,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total value of $145,679.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,177 shares in the company, valued at $797,264.56. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,014 shares of company stock worth $779,494. Company insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 70.5% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,032 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

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.