Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 22,868 Shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. $ACAD

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 768,224 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,868 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.45% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals worth $17,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 74.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 80,528 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after buying an additional 34,352 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 67,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 7.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 89,952 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,498,000 after acquiring an additional 6,303 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $186,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 251,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,170,000 after acquiring an additional 31,931 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 29th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.17.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $24.96 on Thursday. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a one year low of $19.69 and a one year high of $28.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.10 and its 200 day moving average is $23.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James Kihara sold 5,401 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider owned 24,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $519,100.62. This trade represents a 18.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Schneyer sold 3,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.79, for a total transaction of $76,395.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 66,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,441,299.55. This represents a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,239 shares of company stock worth $219,813. 26.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Company 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.