AQR Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CPRX

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 6.6%, owning approximately 0.37% of the company worth $10.8 million after selling 31,501 shares.
• Wall Street analysts have varied ratings for Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $33.20, despite Zacks Research downgrading its rating from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• Insider transactions indicate significant stock sales, with Brian Elsbernd selling 30,000 shares and CEO Richard J. Daly selling 22,970 shares, representing decreases in their respective ownership of 9.97% and 9.20%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Free Report) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 445,510 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 31,501 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.37% of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals worth $10,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $484,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 617,506 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $14,975,000 after acquiring an additional 17,018 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 27.7% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 18,429 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 65.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,334 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 13,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 33.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 440,523 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $10,683,000 after acquiring an additional 110,543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Steve Miller sold 115,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $2,332,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 949,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,259,165.64. This trade represents a 10.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David S. Tierney sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total transaction of $525,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 379,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,668,324. This represents a 6.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 243,970 shares of company stock worth $4,927,241. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPRX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.20.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of CPRX stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,047,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,738. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $20.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.38. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.15 and a 12-month high of $26.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.85.

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.