ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,230,000 shares, a decrease of 10.1% from the August 31st total of 10,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,690,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ACAD opened at $15.69 on Friday. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $14.55 and a one year high of $32.59. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.58. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,569.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.40.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.02. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 6.89% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm had revenue of $241.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $235.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Brendan Teehan sold 9,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total value of $145,679.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,177 shares in the company, valued at $797,264.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other ACADIA Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Stephen Davis sold 31,747 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total transaction of $485,094.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 186,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,850,560.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brendan Teehan sold 9,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total value of $145,679.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,264.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,014 shares of company stock worth $779,494. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 70.5% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,032 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $111,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 65.7% during the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 7,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley downgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.56.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

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.