Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Stock Rating Cut to Strong Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Maplight Therapeutics to “strong sell” from “sell,” despite the broader analyst consensus remaining “Moderate Buy” with a $29.50 target price.
• Maplight shares opened at $9.82, near their 12-month low of $9.10 and well below the 200-day moving average of $23.02. The company reported a quarterly loss of $1.32 per share, slightly better than analysts expected.
• Insider activity was mixed: Director Troy Cox bought approximately $148,700 of stock, while insider James Lillie sold about $276,900 under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Craig Hallum reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Maplight Therapeutics from $45.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $21.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.50.

Maplight Therapeutics Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ MPLT opened at $9.82 on Friday. Maplight Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $9.10 and a 12 month high of $40.43. The stock has a market cap of $545.80 million and a P/E ratio of -0.23. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $12.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.02.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($1.32) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.40) by $0.08. As a group, analysts forecast that Maplight Therapeutics will post -5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Troy Cox purchased 15,620 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.52 per share, for a total transaction of $148,702.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 15,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $148,702.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider James Lillie sold 22,082 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.54, for a total value of $276,908.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 202,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,537,845.20. This represents a 9.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Maplight Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,672,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $36,741,000. Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $34,809,708. 5AM Venture Management LLC bought a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $34,048,394. Finally, Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP purchased a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $26,161,000.

About Maplight Therapeutics

MapLight Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for disorders of the central nervous system. The company's research programs are aimed at addressing significant unmet needs in psychiatric and neurological diseases.

MapLight's pipeline consists of investigational therapies designed to target biological pathways associated with conditions such as schizophrenia and other brain disorders. Its activities include drug discovery, clinical development and the evaluation of potential treatments through clinical trials.

The company's products remain investigational and require successful clinical testing and regulatory review before they can be marketed.

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