ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on ACAD. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $37.00 target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.16.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACAD opened at $25.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.68. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $13.40 and a 1 year high of $28.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.39.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.28. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The company had revenue of $278.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In other ACADIA Pharmaceuticals news, Director James M. Daly sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.37, for a total value of $671,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,041 shares in the company, valued at $90,397.17. This trade represents a 88.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 10,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.69, for a total transaction of $243,106.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 53,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,263,577.22. This represents a 16.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 44,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,010,957 in the last three months. 26.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACAD. Braidwell LP purchased a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,760,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 496.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,969,711 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $42,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639,315 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $31,679,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2,052.1% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,483,235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414,315 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 390.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,648,864 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312,426 shares in the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Established in 1993 and headquartered in San Diego, California, ACADIA’s research centers concentrate on conditions with significant unmet medical needs, including Parkinson’s disease psychosis, Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, and schizophrenia. The company utilizes a range of scientific platforms, including selective receptor modulation and precision-targeted compounds, to advance its portfolio of small-molecule therapeutics.

The company’s flagship product, NUPLAZID® (pimavanserin), received U.S.