ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at 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 issued on Thursday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on ACAD. UBS Group reduced their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley cut ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.56.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ACAD stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $17.02. 1,374,356 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,681,034. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.01. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 0.38. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $14.15 and a 12-month high of $32.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ACADIA Pharmaceuticals news, COO Brendan Teehan sold 9,534 shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total value of $145,679.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,177 shares in the company, valued at $797,264.56. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen Davis sold 31,747 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total value of $485,094.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 186,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,850,560.40. This represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 51,014 shares of company stock worth $779,494. Corporate insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACAD. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 70.5% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,032 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 42.3% in the 3rd 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. 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.