Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) Shares Down 5.2% Following Insider Selling

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Get Free Report) shares fell 5.2% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $23.58 and last traded at $24.09. 878,006 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 1,263,655 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.41.

Specifically, insider Preethi Sundaram sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.42, for a total transaction of $42,272.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 41,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,085,360.02. The trade was a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Preethi Sundaram sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total transaction of $61,376.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,681 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,205.21. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CPRX. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.83.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.1%

The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.72. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $23.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,495,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $206,018,000 after buying an additional 64,486 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,135,473 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $76,035,000 after buying an additional 333,100 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,706,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $56,477,000 after buying an additional 180,100 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $37,494,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 139.5% in the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 79.22% of the company's stock.

About Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

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.