First Trust Advisors LP Has $10.74 Million Stock Holdings in Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. $PRAX

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors cut its Praxis Precision Medicines stake by 62.4% in the first quarter, selling 55,369 shares and retaining 33,335 shares valued at $10.74 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 67.84% of PRAX.
• Director Jill Desimone sold 11,600 shares for approximately $3.61 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing her direct ownership by 83.23%.
• PRAX trades near $307.83, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $563.50; the company recently beat quarterly EPS expectations but remains loss-making.

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAX - Free Report) by 62.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,335 shares of the company's stock after selling 55,369 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.12% of Praxis Precision Medicines worth $10,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRAX. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Praxis Precision Medicines by 3,000.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 124 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Praxis Precision Medicines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 368 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 490 shares of the company's stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 67.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jill Desimone sold 11,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.32, for a total transaction of $3,611,312.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at $727,554.84. This represents a 83.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Praxis Precision Medicines Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PRAX opened at $307.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $305.75 and a 200-day moving average of $314.42. Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.19 and a twelve month high of $366.52. The firm has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of -23.02 and a beta of 2.74.

Praxis Precision Medicines (NASDAQ:PRAX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($3.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($3.58) by $0.38. On average, analysts anticipate that Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. will post -14.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on PRAX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Praxis Precision Medicines in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $815.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $449.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $810.00 target price on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $563.50.

About Praxis Precision Medicines

Praxis Precision Medicines is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing precision therapies for disorders driven by neuronal excitability. The company applies translational neuroscience and genetic insights to design small molecule drugs that target specific ion channels and receptor subtypes implicated in neurological and psychiatric conditions. Its research aims to address unmet needs in rare epilepsies, essential tremor, treatment-resistant depression and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders.

The company's pipeline includes several lead candidates at various stages of development.

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