Shareholders in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) are in the red if they invested three years ago

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 12% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been less than pleasing. After all, the share price is down 49% in the last three years, significantly under-performing the market.

Since shareholders are down over the longer term, lets look at the underlying fundamentals over the that time and see if they've been consistent with returns.

Check out our latest analysis for ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

In the last three years, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals saw its revenue grow by 10% per year, compound. That's a pretty good rate of top-line growth. Shareholders have endured a share price decline of 14% per year. So the market has definitely lost some love for the stock. However, that's in the past now, and it's the future is more important - and the future looks brighter (based on revenue, anyway).

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. Given we have quite a good number of analyst forecasts, it might be well worth checking out this free chart depicting consensus estimates.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that ACADIA Pharmaceuticals shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 31% over one year. That certainly beats the loss of about 1.3% per year over the last half decade. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand ACADIA Pharmaceuticals better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.