ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) Short Interest Down 7.4% in August

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,660,000 shares, a decrease of 7.4% from the July 31st total of 11,510,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.8 days.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ACAD opened at $16.58 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,656.34, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.38. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $14.55 and a 12 month high of $32.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.67.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.02. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 6.89% and a net margin of 3.43%. The business had revenue of $241.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 46.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Brendan Teehan sold 9,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total value of $145,679.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,264.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Brendan Teehan sold 9,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total value of $145,679.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,264.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen Davis sold 31,747 shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total value of $485,094.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 186,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,850,560.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 51,989 shares of company stock worth $793,914. Insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 431.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,774,353 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,083,000 after buying an additional 2,251,940 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $45,187,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $25,342,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,937,714 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,738,000 after purchasing an additional 781,070 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $10,550,000. 96.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ACAD shares. Morgan Stanley cut ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.56.

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.