ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Lowered to Neutral Rating by Guggenheim

Guggenheim lowered shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $20.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $23.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated 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 reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.25.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ACAD stock opened at $18.41 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.81 and a 200 day moving average of $16.42. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $14.15 and a 1 year high of $31.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James Kihara sold 4,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $68,467.13. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $333,897.03. This trade represents a 17.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark C. Schneyer sold 10,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $172,453.79. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,006.62. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,661 shares of company stock worth $414,551 over the last quarter. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACAD. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 29,983 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,770 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,999 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.71% of the company’s stock.

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.