Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) Given New $28.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $17.00 to $28.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 27.10% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on ACHC. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Acadia Healthcare to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Acadia Healthcare from $27.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial set a $17.00 target price on Acadia Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Acadia Healthcare from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $21.50 to $13.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.69.

Acadia Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACHC traded up $1.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $22.03. 1,584,461 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,904,702. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.52. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.89. Acadia Healthcare has a 52-week low of $11.43 and a 52-week high of $42.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.04. Acadia Healthcare had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 3.29%.The business had revenue of $821.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $800.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, equities analysts predict that Acadia Healthcare will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acadia Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACHC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Acadia Healthcare by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,774,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,077,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,760 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 7.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,417,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,166,000 after acquiring an additional 681,278 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 417.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,728,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,815,471 shares during the period. Abrams Bison Investments LLC grew its stake in Acadia Healthcare by 22.3% in the third quarter. Abrams Bison Investments LLC now owns 4,380,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,449,000 after purchasing an additional 800,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Acadia Healthcare by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,336,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,377,000 after purchasing an additional 350,484 shares during the period.

Acadia Healthcare News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat and modest EPS beat — Acadia reported Q4 revenue of $821.5M vs. ~$800M expected and EPS of $0.07 vs. $0.03 consensus, driven by higher admissions and patient days. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Volume/capacity expansion cited as a growth driver — company commentary and press coverage highlight same‑facility revenue growth and capacity increases; these operational gains helped spark a sizable intraday rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 2026 guidance well above consensus — Acadia guided Q1 EPS to $0.25–$0.30 vs. consensus ~$0.11, signaling near‑term improving execution and supporting the stock move. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — TD Cowen reiterated a Buy and raised the price target to $24, citing improving execution and embedded EBITDA growth under management changes. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials and call transcript available — the full press release and Q4 earnings call transcript provide detail on volumes, payor mix and cost trends for investors doing deeper due diligence. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: FY 2026 EPS guidance below Street — Acadia trimmed FY EPS to $1.30–$1.55 vs. consensus ~ $1.75, introducing downside risk to full‑year earnings expectations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Profit collapse year‑over‑year — operating results show EPS down sharply from prior year (Zacks cites ~89% YoY plunge), indicating margin pressure despite revenue growth. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Very high short interest — recent filings show ~35.9% of shares sold short (short‑interest ratio ~7.3 days), which raises downside pressure but also creates potential for volatile squeezes. (Company short‑interest disclosures)

Acadia Healthcare Company Profile

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.