Wall Street Zen Downgrades Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) to Hold

Key Points

• Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, while Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded it to a "strong-buy" just days prior.
• The stock currently has a consensus price target of $32.83 and a market capitalization of $2.42 billion.
• Insider trading has seen significant activity, with one insider selling 44,000 shares for over $1 million, indicating potential changes in insider confidence.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $33.20.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of CPRX stock traded up $0.59 on Friday, hitting $20.27. The company had a trading volume of 643,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,825. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $19.00 and a twelve month high of $26.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.77. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Gary Ingenito sold 44,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total value of $1,039,720.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 68,873 shares in the company, valued at $1,627,468.99. The trade was a 38.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Preethi Sundaram sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total transaction of $61,376.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,127,205.21. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,924 shares of company stock valued at $1,143,369. 10.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPRX. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 105.0% during the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.22% of the company's stock.

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.