ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Stock Falls 10.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD)’s stock price was down 10.3% on Thursday after HC Wainwright lowered their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $33.00. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals traded as low as $21.97 and last traded at $22.8140. Approximately 904,792 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 1,656,982 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.43.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.75.

Insider Activity at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $1,981,934.16. The trade was a 17.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $496,313.22. This represents a 46.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 36,699 shares of company stock worth $1,019,894 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 26.20% of the company’s stock.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $104,000. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 6.8%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.18. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.86.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.11. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 33.42%.The business had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.