ADAR1 Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. $MPLT

Key Points

• ADAR1 Capital Management acquired 374,909 MapLight Therapeutics shares worth approximately $7.6 million, representing about 0.88% of the company; several other institutional investors also initiated positions.
• MapLight’s ZEPHYR trial showed statistically significant benefits for the twice-daily ML-007C-MA dose, but the once-daily arm failed, prompting plans for another trial before potential registration and contributing to a sharp selloff.
• The company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss of $1.34 per share, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus “Buy” rating and average price target of $34.42; insider activity included a director purchase and substantial recent insider selling.

ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 374,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,622,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.88% of Maplight Therapeutics as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $93,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $172,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000.

Insider Activity at Maplight Therapeutics

In other news, insider Erin Pennock Foff sold 24,052 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $691,735.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 350,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,080,293.72. This represents a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Troy Cox purchased 15,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.52 per share, for a total transaction of $148,702.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 15,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $148,702.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 379,987 shares of company stock worth $10,644,411. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Up 24.3%

Shares of MPLT stock opened at $12.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.54 and a 200-day moving average of $25.00. The firm has a market cap of $524.65 million and a PE ratio of -0.30. Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.10 and a 12 month high of $40.43.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.34) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.91) by ($0.43). As a group, equities analysts predict that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Maplight Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplight Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The ZEPHYR trial met its primary endpoint for the 210/3 mg twice-daily dose, which produced a statistically significant improvement in PANSS total score versus placebo. The dose also showed benefits on cognition, symptom severity and positive symptoms, with generally favorable tolerability. MapLight plans another potentially registrational trial and an FDA End-of-Phase 2 meeting. MapLight Announces Positive Topline Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see potential value after the selloff. HC Wainwright retained a “buy” rating with a $26 price target, while Morgan Stanley maintained “equal weight” with a $21 target—both above the recent trading level, although each firm reduced its target substantially. Analyst Rating Reports
• Neutral Sentiment: The twice-daily regimen’s success may preserve a development path for ML-007C-MA, but the results are not yet sufficient for approval. MapLight expects to conduct another trial to replicate the findings before pursuing registration.
• Negative Sentiment: The key disappointment was the once-daily dosing arm, which failed to show statistically significant symptom improvement. Investors viewed this as a major setback because a once-daily treatment could have offered a simpler, more convenient option. The news erased more than $1 billion in market value and sharply reduced confidence in the program. MapLight Once-Daily Trial Report
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm has announced an investor fraud investigation opportunity related to MapLight. The notice does not establish wrongdoing, but such announcements can add legal and reputational uncertainty to an already volatile stock. Investor Fraud Investigation Notice

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPLT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Maplight Therapeutics from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $21.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Monday, July 20th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.42.

Maplight Therapeutics 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.

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