ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $23.72, but opened at $26.38. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $26.3610, with a volume of 787,163 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACAD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America raised shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.62.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 12.6%

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.45. The stock has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 29.33 and a beta of 0.83.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $268.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.25 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 34.30% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James Kihara sold 5,401 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.18, for a total value of $114,393.18. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 24,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,100.62. The trade was a 18.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 3,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.79, for a total transaction of $76,395.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 66,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,441,299.55. This trade represents a 5.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 13,978 shares of company stock worth $302,819 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 26.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 958 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 304.5% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 277.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,612 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. 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.