Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Stock Price Up 11.8% – Still a Buy?

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT)’s share price rose 11.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $30.77 and last traded at $30.6350. Approximately 32,696 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 231,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPLT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Maplight Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.43.

Maplight Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion and a P/E ratio of -0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.83.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported ($2.47) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($1.42). Sell-side analysts expect that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Vishwas Setia sold 10,564 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total value of $298,327.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 356,256 shares in the company, valued at $10,060,669.44. This represents a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider James Woodruff Lillie sold 24,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $713,564.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 243,450 shares in the company, valued at $7,001,622. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 39,124 shares of company stock valued at $693,846 and have sold 336,533 shares valued at $9,373,336. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPLT. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $172,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000.

Maplight Therapeutics Company Profile

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of patients suffering from debilitating central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We were founded by globally recognized leaders in psychiatry and neuroscience research to address the lack of circuit-specific pharmacotherapies available for patients. Our discovery platform holds the potential to fill this void by identifying neural circuits causally linked to disease and targeting those circuits for therapeutic modulation.