ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Trading Up 6.4% – Should You Buy?

Shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) rose 6.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $20.60 and last traded at $20.23. Approximately 514,057 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 2,736,613 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACAD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim downgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,947,640 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $255,939,000 after purchasing an additional 104,444 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,973,874 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $91,878,000 after purchasing an additional 173,084 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,186,389 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $49,007,000 after buying an additional 481,950 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,875,540 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $44,234,000 after purchasing an additional 30,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,700,125 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $49,547,000 after acquiring an additional 574,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.71% of the company’s stock.

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.