Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.250-0.300 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.110. The company issued revenue guidance of $820.0 million-$830.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $799.5 million. Acadia Healthcare also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.300-1.550 EPS.

Acadia Healthcare Stock Up 23.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ACHC traded up $4.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.25. 7,615,643 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,857,252. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Acadia Healthcare has a 52 week low of $11.43 and a 52 week high of $42.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.50. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.89.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.04. Acadia Healthcare had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 3.29%.The company had revenue of $821.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $800.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Acadia Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.300-1.550 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.250-0.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Acadia Healthcare will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACHC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $17.00 target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Bank of America lowered Acadia Healthcare from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $21.50 to $13.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Acadia Healthcare from $33.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Acadia Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.23.

Acadia Healthcare News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on both EPS and revenue: Acadia reported $0.07 EPS (vs. $0.03 consensus) and $821.5M revenue, +6.1% year-over-year; management cited strong volumes and capacity growth that supported the beat. Acadia Healthcare Announces Fourth Quarter and 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/media reaction amplified the move: coverage highlighted the revenue beat and capacity-driven growth as the proximate reason for the rally. Acadia Healthcare Shares Surge 23% Following Q4 Revenue Beat, Capacity Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Short-squeeze / momentum thesis gaining traction: commentators on Seeking Alpha flagged elevated short-squeeze potential and momentum reversal, which can amplify upside on a beat. The Bottom Fishing Club – Acadia Healthcare: Huge Short Squeeze Potential, Reversing Momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Company materials and call available: conference call, transcript and press release provide details on drivers (same-facility revenue +4.4%) — useful for parsing sustainability of the beat. Acadia Healthcare Earnings / Conference Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported as abnormal/unreliable in filings (zeros/NaN) — treat short-interest figures with caution until cleaner data is posted.
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 EPS guidance was lowered relative to Street expectations: Acadia set EPS guidance of $1.30–$1.55 versus a consensus near $1.75, which could limit upside if investors focus on forward earnings power; revenue guidance of ~$3.4–3.5B was roughly in line. (Guidance issued by the company on Feb. 25.)

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Acadia Healthcare by 417.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,728,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,099,000 after acquiring an additional 3,815,471 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Acadia Healthcare by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,774,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,077,000 after buying an additional 2,350,760 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare during the third quarter worth $29,440,000. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Acadia Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,236,000. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,954,000.

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.