Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD)

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $28.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 92.04% from the stock's previous close.

ACAD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim cut ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.93.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACAD traded up $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,904,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,854,084. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $17.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.96. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $13.40 and a fifty-two week high of $20.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 2,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.82, for a total value of $40,132.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $881,137.92. This represents a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Garofalo sold 4,919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.23, for a total value of $89,673.37. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $320,756.85. This represents a 21.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,169 shares of company stock valued at $242,686 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 28.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,093 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P bought a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $168,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.