ACADIA Pharmaceuticals’ (ACAD) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $41.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 76.63% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ACAD. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.36.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

ACAD stock traded down $2.22 on Thursday, reaching $23.21. The company had a trading volume of 3,099,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,230. The company’s fifty day moving average is $27.67 and its 200 day moving average is $24.21. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.86. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $19.69 and a 1 year high of $30.96.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.55 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 33.42%.ACADIA Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Thompson sold 16,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $432,660.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,313.22. The trade was a 46.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.22, for a total transaction of $417,612.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,828 shares in the company, valued at $1,981,934.16. The trade was a 17.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 36,699 shares of company stock worth $1,019,894 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 26.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. 96.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ACADIA Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ACADIA said the Phase 2 results support further development, with the 60 mg once-daily dose showing a numerical improvement over placebo in reducing hallucinations and delusions. Company management described the Phase 3 opportunity as worth pursuing. Acadia’s Remlifanserin Phase 2 Data Support Phase 3 Development
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company reaffirmed its “buy” rating and maintained a $41 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. Needham Reaffirms Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: ACADIA intends to use the mixed RADIANT findings to design a Phase 3 program, leaving the Alzheimer’s psychosis opportunity alive but dependent on confirmation in a larger pivotal trial. ACADIA Announces Phase 3-Enabling Results
• Negative Sentiment: Remlifanserin failed to achieve statistical significance on the study’s primary measure at six weeks, despite reducing hallucinations and delusions more than placebo at the 60 mg dose. Investors viewed the result as a material clinical-development setback, driving heightened selling pressure in ACADIA shares. Alzheimer’s Psychosis Drug Misses Main Goal

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for neurological and psychiatric disorders. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and conducts research and commercial activities primarily in the United States.

ACADIA’s marketed products include NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), an atypical antipsychotic approved for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis. The company also markets DAYBUE (trofinetide), a therapy for Rett syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder.

Founded in 1993, ACADIA continues to advance a pipeline of therapies for central nervous system conditions, including additional neurological and psychiatric disorders.