Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.18 EPS

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.18, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $148.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $136.79 million. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 37.36% and a return on equity of 40.78%. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals updated its FY 2025 guidance to EPS.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,945,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,364,584. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $20.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.79. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $19.05 and a 52 week high of $26.58.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biopharmaceutical company to buy up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Elsbernd sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total transaction of $609,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 271,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,502,091.70. This represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard J. Daly sold 22,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.62, for a total transaction of $473,641.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 226,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,676,492.28. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 243,970 shares of company stock worth $4,927,241. Insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPRX. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,656 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 3,227.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 12,070 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $299,000. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,385 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 17,903 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CPRX. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.14.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.