Brokerages Set Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) PT at $33.20

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.20.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 12th.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

CPRX stock opened at $21.44 on Tuesday. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $19.05 and a 52-week high of $26.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.79.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 37.36% and a return on equity of 40.78%. The company had revenue of $53.11 million during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biopharmaceutical company to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director David S. Tierney sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total transaction of $525,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 379,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,668,324. The trade was a 6.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard J. Daly sold 22,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.62, for a total transaction of $473,641.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 226,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,676,492.28. The trade was a 9.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 243,970 shares of company stock worth $4,927,241. 10.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CPRX. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 93.0% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 63,937 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after acquiring an additional 30,817 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 60,317 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 3,902 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP bought a new position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $2,140,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 27.5% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 83,111 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 17,915 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 52.8% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 389,289 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,669,000 after purchasing an additional 134,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.22% of the company’s stock.

About Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies for people with rare debilitating, chronic neuromuscular, and neurological diseases in the United States. It offers Firdapse, an amifampridine phosphate tablets for the treatment of patients with lambert-eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS); and Ruzurgi for the treatment of pediatric LEMS patients.