ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Morgan Stanley

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $20.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 13.90% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com cut ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim downgraded shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

ACAD opened at $17.56 on Friday. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $14.15 and a fifty-two week high of $24.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51 and a beta of 0.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elizabeth A. Garofalo sold 4,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.23, for a total transaction of $89,673.37. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,595 shares in the company, valued at $320,756.85. This trade represents a 21.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,167 shares of company stock worth $114,583. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ACAD. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,519 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,044 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.