Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Buy" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.29.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.03. The company had a trading volume of 80,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,106,967. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $23.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.70. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $14.75 and a 12-month high of $26.16.

Insider Activity at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In other Catalyst Pharmaceuticals news, insider Gary Ingenito sold 44,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total transaction of $1,039,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 68,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,627,468.99. This represents a 38.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 10.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $37,494,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 139.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,568,791 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,741,000 after buying an additional 913,843 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,185,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 963.5% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 724,091 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $17,559,000 after purchasing an additional 656,004 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 397.8% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 694,125 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $16,833,000 after purchasing an additional 554,674 shares during the period. 79.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.