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

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $41.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 84.85% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.97.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 12.8%

Shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $3.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $22.18. 6,638,718 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,688,105. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.86. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $19.69 and a 52-week high of $30.96. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.21.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $308.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.55 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 33.42%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Thompson sold 16,558 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president owned 18,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,313.22. This trade represents a 46.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.22, for a total value of $417,612.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,981,934.16. The trade was a 17.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,699 shares of company stock worth $1,019,894. 26.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% in the second 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 last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 234,404 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 96.71% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: The once-daily 60 mg dose showed improvement in hallucinations and delusions versus placebo, although the result narrowly missed statistical significance on the study’s primary endpoint. The drug’s safety profile was described as clean, and ACADIA said the data support moving into a Phase 3 trial. ACADIA Phase 2 RADIANT results
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its “buy” rating with a $41 price target, while Citigroup maintained a “buy” rating despite lowering its target to $33 from $40. These targets imply substantial potential upside if remlifanserin succeeds in Phase 3 and ACADIA’s existing portfolio remains strong.
• Neutral Sentiment: ACADIA plans to advance remlifanserin into Phase 3 even after the endpoint miss. That preserves the program’s potential value, but also introduces additional development costs and regulatory risk. ACADIA Phase 3 plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest was listed at zero shares as of September 24, producing a zero-day days-to-cover ratio. Because this conflicts with the description of a “large increase” in short interest, the figure may reflect a reporting or data-timing issue and offers little actionable insight.
• Negative Sentiment: The primary endpoint miss raised doubts about the drug’s clinical meaningfulness, effect size, and ability to replicate in Phase 3. Analysts and investors are concerned that the trial’s positive trends may not be sufficient to support approval, driving broad selling in ACADIA shares. Reuters report on ACADIA trial results
• Negative Sentiment: BMO lowered its price target to $34 amid heavy selling, adding to the evidence that the market is reassessing remlifanserin’s probability of success. The key catalyst ahead is the design and outcome of the planned Phase 3 program.

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.