ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) Short Interest Up 5.4% in March

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,200,000 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the March 15th total of 10,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days.

Insider Activity at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Stephen Davis sold 5,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.67, for a total value of $137,584.59. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,513,626.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen Davis sold 5,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.67, for a total value of $137,584.59. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,513,626.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark C. Schneyer sold 5,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.90, for a total transaction of $97,268.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 26,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,675.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,383 shares of company stock worth $1,291,362. Insiders own 27.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ACAD. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $572,000. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $1,077,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 54.0% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 66,351 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 23,265 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 133,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after acquiring an additional 5,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $1,380,000. Institutional investors own 96.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACAD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet raised shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “d” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.82.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $16.89 on Tuesday. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $16.76 and a fifty-two week high of $33.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.45 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.87.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.04). ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.44% and a negative return on equity of 15.67%. The company had revenue of $231.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $223.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.26) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 69.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization innovative medicines that address unmet medical needs in central nervous system (CNS) disorders and rare diseases in the United States. The company offers NUPLAZID (pimavanserin) for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis; and DAYBUE, a novel synthetic analog of the amino-terminal tripeptide of insulin-like growth factor 1 for treatment of Rett Syndrome.