ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 2,924,825 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 71% from the previous session’s volume of 1,707,898 shares.The stock last traded at $19.08 and had previously closed at $18.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ACAD. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.25.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $16.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.40.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $250.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.83 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 25.83% and a net margin of 13.83%. The company’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.40) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 431.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,774,353 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,083,000 after buying an additional 2,251,940 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 36.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,937,714 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,738,000 after acquiring an additional 781,070 shares in the last quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $11,535,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,550,000. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,882,000. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.