ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.25.

ACAD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $37.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $37.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 16th.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:ACAD opened at $23.46 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.45. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 0.66. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $13.40 and a 12 month high of $28.35.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $278.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.52 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 24.94%.The business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 10,262 shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,338 shares in the company, valued at $1,263,577.22. The trade was a 16.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider James Kihara sold 4,084 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.69, for a total value of $96,749.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $593,624.02. The trade was a 14.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 44,346 shares of company stock worth $1,010,957 in the last quarter. 26.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,024,097 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $65,238,000 after acquiring an additional 69,584 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 16.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,798,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $59,712,000 after purchasing an additional 402,534 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,434,376 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $52,509,000 after purchasing an additional 65,914 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP bought a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,760,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,358,881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,339,000 after buying an additional 389,170 shares during the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

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.