MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $17.56 Million Position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CPRX

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 963.5%, owning 724,091 shares worth approximately $17.56 million as of the latest disclosure.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp DE, also raised their stakes in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, indicating strong interest from the investment community.
• Analysts have mixed reviews on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, with Zacks Research downgrading the stock to a "hold" rating, while others maintain a "strong-buy" rating, leading to a consensus price target of $33.20.

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Free Report) by 963.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 724,091 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 656,004 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.59% of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals worth $17,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 162.2% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 64,395 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 39,836 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 242.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 26,491 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 18,759 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 50,587 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 36,337 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 14,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 99,213 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,071,000 after buying an additional 2,291 shares during the period. 79.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CPRX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $33.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard J. Daly sold 22,970 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.62, for a total transaction of $473,641.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 226,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,676,492.28. The trade was a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steve Miller sold 115,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 949,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,259,165.64. The trade was a 10.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 167,894 shares of company stock valued at $3,434,690 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $20.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,085,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,928. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.00 and a 1 year high of $26.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.70.

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.