Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) Shares Down 20.5% – Here’s What Happened

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC)’s stock price dropped 20.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $24.25 and last traded at $22.4550. Approximately 711,208 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 3,474,513 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.26.

Key Headlines Impacting Acadia Healthcare

Here are the key news stories impacting Acadia Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — EPS $0.37 vs. consensus $0.28 and revenue $828.8M (+7.6% YoY). Strong same-facility revenue drivers (higher revenue per patient day and modest patient-day growth) show underlying demand. Acadia Healthcare (ACHC) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call-option activity — traders bought ~3,427 calls (about 112% above average), indicating speculative bullish positioning that can amplify upside on any confirming news.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest from notable value managers is being highlighted (Acadia appears on lists of under-the-radar picks), which can support longer-term demand. 5 Under-the-Radar Picks from David Einhorn
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released full press release, slide deck and hosted a conference call — useful for modeling patient-mix, pricing trends and M&A commentary but not immediately directional without further detail. Acadia Healthcare Announces First Quarter 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 guidance came in below consensus — EPS guide $0.30–$0.40 vs. Street ~$0.46 and revenue guide $835–$850M vs. ~$867M consensus. This guidance shortfall is the primary near-term negative catalyst pressuring the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Interim CFO appointment raises leadership/stability questions and could create investor uncertainty around execution and financial cadence. Interim CFO Appointment Tests Acadia Healthcare Leadership Stability And 2026 Targets
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: despite the quarterly beat, headlines note the stock dropped on the guidance/leadership concerns — this reflects the market focusing on forward guidance and execution risk. Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) Surprises With Q1 CY2026 Sales But Stock Drops

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACHC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $24.50 price objective on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays set a $25.00 price objective on Acadia Healthcare in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Acadia Healthcare from $27.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Acadia Healthcare from $14.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.04.

Acadia Healthcare Trading Down 18.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.15. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.88, a P/E/G ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $828.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $822.89 million. Acadia Healthcare had a positive return on equity of 6.53% and a negative net margin of 33.29%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Acadia Healthcare has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.300-0.400 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acadia Healthcare

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACHC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 54.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 208.9% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Acadia Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 501.9% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,822 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 124.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 2,698 shares during the period.

About Acadia Healthcare

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc (NASDAQ: ACHC) is a publicly traded provider of behavioral healthcare services headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. Founded in 2005, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish itself as a leading specialist in mental health and addiction treatment across the United States.

Acadia operates a diversified network of inpatient psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, outpatient clinics and intensive outpatient programs.