Short Interest in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) Expands By 14.5%

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) saw a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,720,000 shares, a growth of 14.5% from the December 31st total of 9,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.2 %

ACAD stock opened at $18.66 on Friday. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $14.15 and a 1-year high of $26.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92 and a beta of 0.37.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.06. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 25.83%. The firm had revenue of $250.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.40) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.25.

Insider Transactions at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider James Kihara sold 4,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $68,467.13. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Schneyer sold 10,259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,006.62. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,661 shares of company stock valued at $414,551. Corporate 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 business. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 42.3% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,093 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.