New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC Raises Holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CPRX

Key Points

• New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC increased its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by an astonishing 5,531.4%, acquiring an additional 322,038 shares to reach a total of 327,860 shares valued at approximately $7.95 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 79.22% of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, with notable increases in positions from firms like Bank of America and Vanguard Group.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments, with some research firms downgrading Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating, while the stock has an average target price of $33.20.

New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC increased its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Free Report) by 5,531.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 327,860 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 322,038 shares during the period. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC owned about 0.27% of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals worth $7,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CPRX. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 913,843 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $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 valued at $17,559,000 after acquiring an additional 656,004 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 397.8% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 694,125 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $16,833,000 after purchasing an additional 554,674 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 234.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 526,569 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $12,769,000 after purchasing an additional 369,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.22% of the company's stock.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of CPRX stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.80. 687,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,750. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.00 and a 1 year high of $26.58. The company's 50 day moving average is $20.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.39. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David S. Tierney sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total value of $525,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 379,620 shares in the company, valued at $7,668,324. This represents a 6.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steve Miller sold 115,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $2,332,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 949,663 shares in the company, valued at $19,259,165.64. The trade was a 10.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 213,970 shares of company stock worth $4,318,241. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals 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.