ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . 2,924,825 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 71% from the previous session’s volume of 1,707,898 shares.The stock last traded at $19.08 and had previously closed at $18.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on ACAD shares. StockNews.com downgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.60.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.35.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 25.83% and a net margin of 13.83%. The firm had revenue of $250.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.40) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark C. Schneyer sold 10,259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $172,453.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,006.62. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider James Kihara sold 4,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $68,467.13. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $333,897.03. This represents a 17.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,661 shares of company stock valued at $414,551. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ACAD. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 525,566 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,540,000 after purchasing an additional 22,513 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 85.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 108,838 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 49,992 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,770 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 43.2% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 25,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 7,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 186,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.71% of the company’s stock.

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.