Norges Bank Takes $40.27 Million Position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. $ACAD

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,507,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,266,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,239,451 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $86,539,000 after purchasing an additional 106,807 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 16.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,798,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $59,712,000 after purchasing an additional 402,534 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,760,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 19.8% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,358,881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,339,000 after purchasing an additional 389,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 390.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,648,864 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312,426 shares in the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACAD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 3,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.79, for a total transaction of $76,395.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 66,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,441,299.55. This represents a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider James Kihara sold 5,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.18, for a total transaction of $114,393.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 24,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,100.62. This represents a 18.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 13,978 shares of company stock valued at $302,819 in the last three months. 26.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:ACAD opened at $21.70 on Tuesday. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.69 and a 52 week high of $28.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.78 and a 200 day moving average of $23.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a PEG ratio of 27.07 and a beta of 0.84.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.02). ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 34.30% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The firm had revenue of $268.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $280.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.