ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $28.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 91.65% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.93.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

ACAD opened at $14.61 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.04. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $14.15 and a one year high of $20.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ACADIA Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 3,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.05, for a total value of $54,065.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $969,957.45. The trade was a 5.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Garofalo sold 4,919 shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.23, for a total transaction of $89,673.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $320,756.85. The trade was a 21.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,433 shares of company stock worth $187,319 in the last three months. 28.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACAD. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,519 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,093 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 2,044 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.