Legal & General Group Plc Acquires New Stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. $ACAD

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 282,510 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,148,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.16% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,355 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 20,632 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 28,666 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACAD opened at $28.93 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 21.54 and a beta of 0.86. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.69 and a 1-year high of $30.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.81.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $296.55 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 33.42% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Elizabeth H.Z. 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 value of $432,660.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,994 shares in the company, valued at $496,313.22. The trade was a 46.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 67,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,981,934.16. This trade represents 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 valued at $1,019,894 in the last ninety days. 26.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACAD has been the subject of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $14.50 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.36.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.