Fred Alger Management LLC Buys Shares of 51,402 Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CPRX

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC has invested $1.25 million in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by acquiring 51,402 shares during the first quarter.
• Insiders sold a total of 213,970 shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock valued at $4.3 million over the last three months.
• Two analysts have given Catalyst Pharmaceuticals a Strong Buy rating, while the company holds a consensus rating of "Buy" with a target price of $33.20.

Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 51,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,246,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,014 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,135,473 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $76,035,000 after purchasing an additional 333,100 shares during the last quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC increased its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 5,531.4% in the first quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 327,860 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,951,000 after purchasing an additional 322,038 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,052 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 38,847 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. 79.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CPRX. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Two research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $33.20.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4%

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $19.70. 405,353 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,557. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.85. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.15 and a twelve month high of $26.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director David S. Tierney sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total value of $525,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 379,620 shares in the company, valued at $7,668,324. This trade represents a 6.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard J. Daly sold 22,970 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.62, for a total transaction of $473,641.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 226,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,676,492.28. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 243,970 shares of company stock worth $4,927,241 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

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.