Palo Alto Investors LP Makes New Investment in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. $ACAD

Palo Alto Investors LP bought a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,864,096 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,461,629,000. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals comprises about 10.0% of Palo Alto Investors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Palo Alto Investors LP owned approximately 1.66% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 74.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 80,528 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 34,352 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 67,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 7.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 89,952 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,498,000 after buying an additional 6,303 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $186,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 251,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,170,000 after buying an additional 31,931 shares in the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACAD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.36.

Insider Activity at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In other ACADIA Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 14,292 shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were 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 owned 67,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,981,934.16. The trade was a 17.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Elizabeth H.Z. Thompson sold 16,558 shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,313.22. This trade represents a 46.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 36,699 shares of company stock worth $1,019,894 in the last 90 days. 26.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

ACAD opened at $29.73 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a P/E/G ratio of 22.06 and a beta of 0.81. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.69 and a 52-week high of $30.96.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $296.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Established in 1993 and headquartered in San Diego, California, ACADIA’s research centers concentrate on conditions with significant unmet medical needs, including Parkinson’s disease psychosis, Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, and schizophrenia. The company utilizes a range of scientific platforms, including selective receptor modulation and precision-targeted compounds, to advance its portfolio of small-molecule therapeutics.

The company’s flagship product, NUPLAZID® (pimavanserin), received U.S.