Stock Traders Buy High Volume of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Call Options (NASDAQ:ACAD)

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 3,003 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 118% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,379 call options.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of ACAD stock traded down $0.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.24. 379,003 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,680,722. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $19.69 and a twelve month high of $30.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.86.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.11. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 33.42% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The firm had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $296.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACAD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citizens Jmp cut their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.36.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ACADIA Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ACADIA said the 60 mg once-daily dose reduced hallucinations and delusions more than placebo, although the improvement narrowly missed statistical significance on the study’s primary six-week endpoint. The company believes the data support advancing remlifanserin into Phase 3, citing favorable safety and efficacy trends. ACADIA Phase 2 RADIANT results
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating and maintained a $41 price target, while Citigroup kept a Buy rating despite reducing its target to $33 from $40. These targets indicate that some analysts still see meaningful upside if the Phase 3 program succeeds. Citizens lowers ACADIA price target
• Neutral Sentiment: ACADIA plans to proceed with Phase 3 development, but the decision increases spending and execution risk for a program whose pivotal design and likelihood of success are now under greater scrutiny.
• Negative Sentiment: The primary endpoint miss was the main catalyst for the selloff. Although the high-dose arm showed a positive trend, the effect size was considered modest, raising concerns about clinical usefulness and whether the result can be reproduced in Phase 3. Reuters report on the Phase 2 endpoint miss
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts became more cautious following the results: Citi reportedly cut its estimated probability of remlifanserin success to 20%, while other commentary placed the odds near 25%. BMO also lowered its price target to $34 amid heavy selling. Yahoo Finance report on analyst reaction

Insider Activity at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.22, for a total value of $417,612.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,981,934.16. The trade was a 17.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Elizabeth Thompson sold 16,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $432,660.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,313.22. This trade represents a 46.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 36,699 shares of company stock worth $1,019,894 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 26.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $15,658,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $1,234,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,553,770 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,587,000 after purchasing an additional 332,325 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $1,123,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,783,000. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for neurological and psychiatric disorders. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and conducts research and commercial activities primarily in the United States.

ACADIA’s marketed products include NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), an atypical antipsychotic approved for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis. The company also markets DAYBUE (trofinetide), a therapy for Rett syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder.

Founded in 1993, ACADIA continues to advance a pipeline of therapies for central nervous system conditions, including additional neurological and psychiatric disorders.