Shares of Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. ACHC have surged 100% year to date, marking a sharp rebound from their 2025 slump. Investor sentiment had been weighed down by rising patient-related litigation costs and broader legal and liability concerns, which pressured the stock’s valuation. The industry rose 11.1% so far this year while the S&P 500 gained 13.2%.
YTD Price Performance – ACHC, Industry and S&P 500
Early this year, Acadia brought back former CEO Debra Osteen, replacing Chris Hunter, while reaffirming its 2025 guidance. Investors appeared to welcome Osteen’s return as a potential source of greater operational discipline and stability.
Improving expectations also supported the rally. Management raised its 2026 adjusted EBITDA and earnings outlook following both first- and second-quarter results. After the second quarter, Acadia also increased its operating cash flow guidance to $350-$400 million from $285-$325 million and lowered its expected capital expenditures to $235-$255 million from $255-$280 million. The combination of stronger expected cash generation and lower spending provided additional support, particularly given Acadia’s elevated leverage.
Capacity expansion has also strengthened Acadia’s longer-term growth narrative. The company added 240 licensed beds in the second quarter of 2026 through two newly opened joint-venture facilities, a 144-bed facility with Orlando Health in Florida and a 96-bed facility with Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Iowa. Acadia also opened two new Comprehensive Treatment Center locations during the quarter.
Improving Estimates for ACHC
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACHC’s 2026 earnings is currently pegged at $1.55 per share, which witnessed four upward revisions and no cuts over the past 60 days. The consensus mark for 2027 EPS indicates a further 14.4% year-over-year growth. It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters with an average surprise of 47%.
Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACHC’s 2026 and 2027 revenues is pegged at $3.42 billion and $3.61 billion, signaling 3.4% and 5.4% increases, respectively.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Acadia Healthcare currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Enhancing the array of healthcare options, promising stocks in the Medical sector include Tenet Healthcare Corporation THC, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH and The Ensign Group, Inc. ENSG, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Tenet Healthcare’s 2026 bottom line suggests 25.4% year-over-year growth. THC has witnessed nine upward estimate revisions over the past 60 days against no movement in the opposite direction. It beat earnings estimates in all the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 22.7%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UnitedHealth’s full-year 2026 earnings indicates a 21.4% year-over-year increase. UNH beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 12.1%. The consensus mark for 2026 revenues is pegged at $446.78 billion.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ensign Group’s 2026 full-year earnings implies an 18.6% jump from the year-ago reported figure. ENSG beat earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 4.3%. The consensus mark for its current-year revenues is pegged at $5.88 billion, which indicates a 16.3% year-over-year increase.
Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains
Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.
While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.
Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power .
Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.
See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (ACHC): Free Stock Analysis Report
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): Free Stock Analysis Report
Tenet Healthcare Corporation (THC): Free Stock Analysis Report
The Ensign Group, Inc. (ENSG): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).