ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) by 11.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 84,796 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 11,418 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ACAD. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 66.7% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 31,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 12,669 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,215,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $496,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 6.3% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 30,865 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 142,998 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,644,000 after acquiring an additional 27,871 shares during the last quarter. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Brendan Teehan sold 2,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.87, for a total transaction of $45,890.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 38,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $693,284.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other ACADIA Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Mark C. Schneyer sold 3,503 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.94, for a total transaction of $59,340.82. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,977.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brendan Teehan sold 2,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.87, for a total transaction of $45,890.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 38,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $693,284.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,356 shares of company stock worth $949,987. 28.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.2 %

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $15.94. 270,396 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,726,754. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.05. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.55 and a 1-year high of $33.99.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.06. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 0.21%. The firm had revenue of $205.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.31 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.27) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 73.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ACAD shares. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America lowered their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.71.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization innovative medicines that address unmet medical needs in central nervous system (CNS) disorders and rare diseases in the United States. The company offers NUPLAZID (pimavanserin) for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis; and DAYBUE, a novel synthetic analog of the amino-terminal tripeptide of insulin-like growth factor 1 for treatment of Rett Syndrome.