ACAD vs BDTX Stock Comparison
ACAD currently leads BDTX in this stock comparison, with AIQ scores of 65 vs 42. The clearest difference is quality, while BDTX has the stronger momentum profile.
What is the main difference between ACAD and BDTX?
ACAD leads the current stock comparison as ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc., with the clearest separation coming from quality and the broader AIQ evidence mix.
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. vs Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc.
ACAD leads
ACAD leads by 23 AIQ points, primarily on Quality and Risk Resilience, but the lead has narrowed from 30 points over 30 sessions. Wall Street currently favors BDTX on target upside.
Stable: 3 of 5 evidence groups support ACAD, its lead is narrowing, and its signal state is cleanly positive.
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc.
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors ACAD over BDTX, 65 versus 42 as of Oct 21, 2026. ACAD's advantage is driven primarily by stronger quality and risk resilience, while BDTX holds the stronger momentum profile. ACAD also shows the weaker technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average, though analyst target upside currently favors BDTX. 3 of 5 covered evidence groups favor ACAD today, and the comparison is rated Stable on stability: the leader's advantage has been narrowing. ACAD lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 30 to 23 points over 30 sessions.
Compare ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. across the Algovestiq AIQ Score, valuation, quality, momentum, risk, technicals and analyst expectations.
Performance over time
Price return from daily closes; distributions are not included.
Price return comparison
Growth of $10,000, price only
Split-adjusted closes only. Distributions are excluded, which understates the return of any fund or stock that pays them.
Compare ACAD and BDTX against another ticker
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AIQ Factor Divergence
Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.
- Quality92 vs 27ACAD +65
- Risk Resilience60 vs 37ACAD +23
- Momentum45 vs 64BDTX +19
3 of 5 evidence groups favor ACAD. ACAD’s edge is concentrated in quality and risk resilience; BDTX keeps a meaningful momentum edge.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.
Largest factor move: Momentum +6
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 4 active signals are unchanged.
Largest factor move: Momentum +26
New signals
- BB Upper Band Breach — bearish, volatility, short horizon
- Keltner Channel Breakout — bullish, volatility, short horizon
- Beta Spike Warning — bearish, risk, long horizon
ACAD's lead narrowed by 7 AIQ points in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — ACAD and BDTX both carry a full feed there.
The central trade-off
ACAD (ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.): the stronger current systematic profile, led by quality and risk resilience.
BDTX (Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc.): the counter-case, on momentum, technicals, analyst expectations — but at materially higher volatility, 70.1% against 55.4%.
The AIQ Score and Wall Street therefore point in different directions on this pair.
Which one fits your objective
The same two names rank differently depending on what you are optimizing for. All six reads are shown at once — none of them is hidden behind a toggle.
Balanced
ACADACAD on the overall AIQ Score, which weights Quality and Value most heavily.
Growth
ACADACAD on combined revenue and EPS growth.
Value
EvenThe two are level on Value.
Momentum
BDTXBDTX on the Momentum factor, by 19 points.
Lower downside
ACADACAD on Risk Resilience, by 23 points.
Analyst upside
BDTXBDTX on implied upside to the consensus price target.
AIQ vs Wall Street
The model and the Street disagree here: AIQ favors ACAD, analyst targets favor BDTX. That disagreement is the most useful thing on this page.
| Measure | ACAD | BDTX | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Implied upside to target | +63.3% | +284.6% | BDTX has more room |
| Target dispersion | +104.6% | 0% | Lower is tighter analyst agreement |
| Consensus | Buy | Buy | Context, not a primary driver |
| Analysts covering | 11 | 1 | Higher coverage generally improves confidence |
The two are measuring different things. The AIQ Score reads current fundamentals, valuation, trend and risk; analyst targets price forward expectations. A divergence of this kind is either a contrarian opportunity or a sign the model is missing something already priced in — it is worth resolving before acting on either.
Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions. Dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.
AIQ Agreement Matrix
3 of 5 covered evidence groups favor ACAD. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | ACAD | 65 vs 42 |
| Fundamentals | ACAD | EPS growth 8% vs -6.3%; TTM ROE 32.4% vs -38.8% |
| Valuation | Not covered | Not covered |
| Technicals | BDTX | Price vs 50-day -19.8% vs 4.9%; vs 200-day -14.6% vs -7% |
| Risk Resilience | ACAD | Risk Resilience 60 vs 37 |
| Analyst expectations | BDTX | Target upside 63.3% vs 284.6% |
✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of ACAD and BDTX and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The conclusion rests on a wide gap and broad agreement. It is unlikely to turn on a single session.
- The AIQ gap is wide at 23 points. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The leader's advantage has been narrowing. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- The lead has been steady session to session. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The leader's signal state is cleanly positive. (supports the conclusion holding)
- Analyst targets on the leader are widely dispersed. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on ACAD.
How the comparison changed
120 daily snapshots · Jun 21 – Oct 20ACAD lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 30 to 23 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- ACAD +23
- 65 vs 42
- 7 sessions ago
- ACAD +30
- 62 vs 32
- 30 sessions ago
- ACAD +30
- 59 vs 29
- 90 sessions ago
- ACAD +28
- 73 vs 45
The lead has not changed hands in this window.
AIQ Signal Divergence
Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.
2 bullish / 0 bearish / 2 neutral
Only ACAD
- Bollinger Band Squeeze — neutral, volatility, short horizon
- Golden Cross Active — bullish, trend, long horizon (5.18%)
2 bullish / 3 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted
Only BDTX
- Death Cross Active — bearish, trend, long horizon (12.17%)
- BB Upper Band Breach — bearish, volatility, short horizon
- Keltner Channel Breakout — bullish, volatility, short horizon
- Beta Spike Warning — bearish, risk, long horizon
Both carry 2 more signals that do not separate them: ATR Expansion - Breakout Mode, MACD Bullish Crossover.
BDTX is conflicted, so the timing case there is weaker than the score alone suggests.
Price vs model alignment
Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.
Price is down while the AIQ Score moved up 2 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price -1.22%, AIQ +2 points).
Price and the AIQ Score both moved up over the latest session (price +0.48%, AIQ +9 points).
What would flip this result
A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.
- 1BDTX closes the Quality gap — currently 65 points behind, the largest single contributor to ACAD's edge.
- 2BDTX's Death Cross Active resolves — a bearish trend rule currently active against it.
- 3ACAD's Golden Cross Active breaks down — it is the strongest rule currently supporting the verdict.
- 4The narrowing continues — the lead has already given back 7 points over 30 sessions, and a further 23-point move would eliminate ACAD's advantage entirely.
The full evidence
Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.
Fundamentals
ACAD leads on balance| Metric | ACAD | BDTX |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 14.9% | 0% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | 8% | -6.3% |
| Gross margin | 91.1% | 0% |
| Operating margin | 7.6% | 0% |
| Return on equity (TTM) | 32.4% | -38.8% |
| Debt to equity | 0.06 | 0.18 |
Performance
BDTX leads 4 of 6 windows| Metric | ACAD | BDTX |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | 9.8% | 23.2% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -22.6% | 4.5% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | -18.1% | 13.1% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | -6.2% | -34.3% |
| Year to date | -23.5% | -14.8% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | -0.9% | -50.5% |
Technicals
BDTX has the stronger structure| Metric | ACAD | BDTX |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 52.7 | 60.8 |
| ADX (14) | 51 | 19.9 |
| Price vs 50-day | -19.8% | 4.9% |
| Price vs 200-day | -14.6% | -7% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 55.4% | 70.1% |
Risk
ACAD is the more resilient| Metric | ACAD | BDTX |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 0.71 | 1.76 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.04 | -0.44 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.05 | -0.54 |
| Max drawdown | -39.1% | -66.9% |
| Current drawdown | -33.1% | -57.5% |
| Annualized volatility | 38.7% | 80.9% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -3.5% | -6.9% |
Straight answers
Each answer is regenerated from the current snapshot, not written once and left to age.
Which is better, ACAD or BDTX?
On the Algovestiq AIQ Score, ACAD is the stronger of the two as of Oct 21, 2026, scoring 65 against BDTX's 42. The edge comes from quality and risk resilience. BDTX is not without a case — it holds the better momentum profile, which matters more if that is the objective you are optimizing for. This is a systematic score, not a recommendation: it ranks the two on the same evidence, it does not know your holding period or tax position.
Is ACAD or BDTX the better buy right now?
ACAD carries the stronger systematic profile as of Oct 21, 2026, and the comparison is rated Stable — 3 of 5 covered evidence groups agree. A Stable rating means the gap is wide and the evidence is broad, so the conclusion is unlikely to turn on a single session.
Why does the AIQ Score favor ACAD over BDTX?
The composite weights Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk Resilience. ACAD leads Quality by 65 points; ACAD leads Risk Resilience by 23 points; BDTX leads Momentum by 19 points. Where the two split, the factor with the larger weight carries the result.
Which has more analyst upside, ACAD or BDTX?
Analyst price targets imply +63.3% upside for ACAD and +284.6% for BDTX, so the Street currently favors BDTX. That points the opposite way to the AIQ Score, which favors ACAD. The two are measuring different things: the model reads current fundamentals, valuation, trend and risk; the Street is pricing forward expectations. A divergence of this kind is either a contrarian opportunity or a sign the model is missing something the analysts have already priced — it is the single most useful row on this page to investigate. Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions, and dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.
Which is better value, ACAD or BDTX?
Neither name separates on the peer-relative Value factor. The two are level on Value. The Value factor reads valuation relative to sector peers and to the company's own fundamental quality, so it is not the same as simply having the lower multiple.
Which has stronger growth, ACAD or BDTX?
ACAD on combined revenue and EPS growth. Growth here is measured on reported revenue and earnings, not on forward estimates — it describes what the businesses have delivered, not what the Street expects next.
Which has stronger momentum, ACAD or BDTX?
BDTX on the Momentum factor, by 19 points. Momentum is one of the four weighted factors in the AIQ composite. It has documented persistence over three- to twelve-month horizons, which makes it a timing input rather than a reason to hold something indefinitely.
Which is riskier, ACAD or BDTX?
ACAD is the more resilient of the two, so the other name carries the higher downside risk. ACAD on Risk Resilience, by 23 points. Risk Resilience is a weighted factor in the composite; position sizing usually responds to it more usefully than the buy/avoid decision does.
Is ACAD more profitable than BDTX?
ACAD leads on the comparable margin measures — gross margin 91.1% vs 0%; operating margin 7.6% vs 0%; ttm roe 32.4% vs -38.8%.
Is ACAD's lead over BDTX getting stronger or weaker?
ACAD lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 30 to 23 points over 30 sessions. This is measured from 120 daily comparison snapshots between 2026-06-21 and 2026-10-20. The lead has not changed hands in that window.
What would change the ACAD vs BDTX verdict?
The result is a state, not a forecast, so it changes when the underlying evidence changes. Concretely: BDTX closes the Quality gap — currently 65 points behind, the largest single contributor to ACAD's edge; BDTX's Death Cross Active resolves — a bearish trend rule currently active against it; ACAD's Golden Cross Active breaks down — it is the strongest rule currently supporting the verdict; the narrowing continues — the lead has already given back 7 points over 30 sessions, and a further 23-point move would eliminate ACAD's advantage entirely.
What do the current signals say about ACAD and BDTX?
ACAD: 2 bullish / 0 bearish / 2 neutral. BDTX: 2 bullish / 3 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted. A conflicted state means bullish and bearish rules are active on the same name at once — the technical evidence is not pointing one way, and a decision taken on it carries more timing risk. The most decision-relevant rule on ACAD is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon). On BDTX it is Death Cross Active (bearish, long horizon).
Compare ACAD and BDTX with others
Continue your research
This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.
How this comparison is scored
The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.
The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.
How to use side-by-side comparison →This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.