ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $41.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 98.26% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on ACAD. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.75.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 6.8%

ACAD stock traded down $1.50 on Thursday, hitting $20.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,363,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,697,879. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.21. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $19.69 and a 1 year high of $30.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.86.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.11. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 33.42% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The firm had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In other ACADIA Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Elizabeth Thompson sold 16,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total value of $432,660.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,313.22. The trade was a 46.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 67,828 shares in the company, valued at $1,981,934.16. This represents a 17.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 three months. 26.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACAD. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $597,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $232,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 34,153 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the period. 96.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key ACADIA Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The once-daily 60 mg dose reduced hallucinations and delusions more than placebo and produced results that were directionally supportive, despite narrowly missing statistical significance on the primary endpoint. ACADIA said the findings are sufficient to justify Phase 3 testing. ACAD Stock Down 13% as Phase II Alzheimer’s Study Misses Primary Goal
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintained bullish ratings, though they reduced price targets to reflect the clinical risk. HC Wainwright and Citizens lowered targets to $33 while retaining “buy” and “market outperform” ratings, respectively. Needham also reaffirmed its “buy” rating with a $41 target.
• Neutral Sentiment: ACADIA’s reported safety profile for remlifanserin was viewed as clean, but the company must demonstrate a larger and more reliable treatment effect in Phase 3. Acadia chugs on with Alzheimer’s psychosis programme despite Phase II miss
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high call-option activity indicates increased trading interest and potentially bullish positioning, but it does not establish a fundamental change in the company’s outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Construction was completed on ACADIA’s Princeton office, an operational update with limited near-term financial significance. Construction finished on Acadia Pharmaceuticals’ Princeton office
• Negative Sentiment: Remlifanserin missed the RADIANT Phase 2 study’s primary endpoint because the 60 mg benefit did not reach statistical significance at six weeks. The miss undermines confidence in the drug’s efficacy and increases the risk that Phase 3 testing could fail. Acadia’s Alzheimer’s psychosis drug misses main goal
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut success expectations and price targets following the data. Citi reportedly reduced its estimated probability of Phase 3 success to 20%, while other commentary cited a modest effect size and concerns about replicability and clinical utility.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.