Virtus Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. $ACAD

Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 44,384 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $569,634,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $40,266,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2,052.1% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,483,235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414,315 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 390.1% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,648,864 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 47.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,343,868 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $74,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,834 shares in the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $29.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.44. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.69 and a fifty-two week high of $30.96. The company has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 0.81.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $308.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.55 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 33.42%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ACAD shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider James Kihara sold 5,401 shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.18, for a total value of $114,393.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 24,509 shares in the company, valued at $519,100.62. This trade represents a 18.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth H.Z. Thompson sold 16,558 shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total value of $432,660.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,100 shares of company stock worth $1,134,287. 26.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals 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.