Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. $ACAD

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 55,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Braidwell LP bought a new stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $50,760,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $40,266,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 2,052.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,483,235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,652,000 after buying an additional 1,414,315 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 390.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,648,864 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,187,000 after buying an additional 1,312,426 shares during the period. Finally, Logos Global Management LP acquired a new position in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $22,704,000. 96.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $25.97 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 18.71 and a beta of 0.80. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a one year low of $19.69 and a one year high of $28.35.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $268.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.25 million. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 34.30% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 3,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.79, for a total transaction of $76,395.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 66,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,441,299.55. The trade was a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider James Kihara sold 5,401 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.18, for a total value of $114,393.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 24,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $519,100.62. This trade represents a 18.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 13,978 shares of company stock worth $302,819 in the last 90 days. 26.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACAD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. HC Wainwright lowered ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.59.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

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.