Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $17.17, but opened at $20.31. Acadia Healthcare shares last traded at $21.25, with a volume of 2,657,887 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.04. Acadia Healthcare had a net margin of 3.29% and a return on equity of 7.66%. The company had revenue of $821.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $800.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Acadia Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.300-1.550 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.250-0.300 EPS.

Trending Headlines about Acadia Healthcare

Here are the key news stories impacting Acadia Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat revenue and EPS expectations — revenue rose ~6.1% y/y to $821.5M and EPS topped consensus (reported $0.07 vs. $0.03 expected), driven by higher admissions and patient days. Acadia Healthcare Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates on Rising Admissions
• Positive Sentiment: Company issued strong Q1 FY2026 EPS guidance of $0.250–$0.300 vs. the $0.110 consensus, and gave revenue guidance roughly in line or above near-term expectations — this drove upward revision to near-term earnings outlook. Acadia Healthcare Announces Fourth Quarter and 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Active buying and reported surge in shares — press coverage notes a ~23% jump on the beat and guidance, with volume well above average, suggesting momentum and potential short-covering pushed the move. Acadia Healthcare Shares Surge 23% Following Q4 Revenue Beat, Capacity Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript available for details on drivers, one‑time items, and margin dynamics — useful for parsing why GAAP EPS plunged y/y while revenue grew. Acadia Healthcare Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 EPS guidance of $1.30–$1.55 is below the consensus (~$1.75), creating medium‑term earnings risk and limiting upside unless execution improves. Acadia Healthcare Announces Fourth Quarter and 2025 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Very large reported short interest (~32.45M shares as of Feb. 13, ~35.9% of shares sold short; ~7.3 days to cover) increases volatility risk — while it can amplify rallies via a squeeze, it also signals bearish positioning and potential downside if sentiment flips.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ACHC shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Acadia Healthcare from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America lowered shares of Acadia Healthcare from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $21.50 to $13.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.23.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ACHC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,774,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,077,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,760 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Acadia Healthcare by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,417,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,166,000 after buying an additional 681,278 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Acadia Healthcare by 417.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,728,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,099,000 after buying an additional 3,815,471 shares during the period. Abrams Bison Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 22.3% during the third quarter. Abrams Bison Investments LLC now owns 4,380,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,449,000 after buying an additional 800,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 8.8% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,336,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,377,000 after acquiring an additional 350,484 shares during the period.

Acadia Healthcare Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.48 and its 200-day moving average is $18.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Acadia Healthcare Company Profile

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc (NASDAQ: ACHC) is a publicly traded provider of behavioral healthcare services headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. Founded in 2005, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish itself as a leading specialist in mental health and addiction treatment across the United States.

Acadia operates a diversified network of inpatient psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, outpatient clinics and intensive outpatient programs.