Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) by 67.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 129,551 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,340 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ACAD. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 70.5% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,032 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,999 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark C. Schneyer sold 10,259 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $172,453.79. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,302 shares in the company, valued at $896,006.62. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brendan Teehan sold 10,329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $173,630.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 62,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,043,985.05. The trade was a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,661 shares of company stock valued at $414,551 over the last quarter. 28.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2 %

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $16.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.38. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.15 and a 1-year high of $32.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.61 and a 200-day moving average of $15.99.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $250.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.83 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 25.83% and a net margin of 13.83%. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.40) EPS. Research analysts forecast that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ACAD. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $37.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.56.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals 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.