Date: Mar 10, 2015 Source: Stock Markets Daily (
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Shares in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ACAD) jumped sharply today on speculation that the drug maker is in midst of being taken over. The share price of ACADIA jumped by 17.85% to their new all time high of $45.88.
The speculation on a deal to buy ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ACAD) was sparked by the company having cancelled two of their recent investor meetings. First there was a meeting ACADIA was scheduled at on March 3rd, the hosted by Cowen & Co which the company cancelled their appearance at. Then today ACADIA was scheduled to appear at the Roth Capital conference which they cancelled at the very last minute, which has sent the speculators into overdrive and the share price soaring.
Management at Acadia is yet to comment on the market speculation of a deal.
Acadia itself is a developer of drugs for central nervous system disorders including Parkinson's disease. While ACAD is not yet producing any revenue and their drugs are still in the development phase their Parkinson treatment drug would certainly be of interest to many other pharma companies out there.
Acadia's main candidate, pimavanserin, is a treatment for Parkinson's disease, which is in Phase IV of the development stage. Along with this they have 3 other main drugs in their development portfolio, meant for treating glaucoma, schizophrenia and chronic pain.
With there being an estimated 10 million Parkinson's disease sufferers the market is very large and in the US alone, it is estimated $25 billion is spent on direct and indirect treatment for the disease. By the year 2030 the number of Parkinson's cases is estimated to double again increasing that market size. Based on this we can certainly see why there may be companies interested in putting a deal together to buy Acadia.
Further to the above, investors should be aware that there has been no word on a deal for purchasing ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ACAD) released by any parties in the know just yet and it is all just mere speculation. As such any purchase on the basis of a deal is high risk and if there is no deal, investors can expect to see the stock price fall back down again.
