ACADIA Pharmaceuticals’ (ACAD) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) in a research note published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $41.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ACAD. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.75.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 6.8%

ACAD stock opened at $20.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.86. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $19.69 and a twelve month high of $30.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.50 and a 200-day moving average of $24.18.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was 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 $1,981,934.16. The trade was a 17.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Elizabeth Thompson sold 16,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 46.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 36,699 shares of company stock worth $1,019,894 in the last three months. Company insiders own 26.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACAD. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 234,404 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,218,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

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.