Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. by 71.1%, now holding approximately $20.72 million worth of shares.
• Insider trading activity includes a notable sale by Preethi Sundaram, who sold 2,324 shares at an average price of $26.41, reducing their ownership by 5.16%.
• Catalyst Pharmaceuticals recently received an upgrade to a "strong-buy" rating from Cantor Fitzgerald, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $32.83.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Free Report) by 71.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 854,367 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,101,141 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.70% of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals worth $20,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CPRX. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 133.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,331 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 22,455 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 31,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 4,996 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,237 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 157,409 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,285,000 after acquiring an additional 24,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 116,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,428,000 after acquiring an additional 14,849 shares in the last quarter. 79.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Gary Ingenito sold 44,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total value of $1,039,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 68,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,627,468.99. This trade represents a 38.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Preethi Sundaram sold 1,600 shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.42, for a total transaction of $42,272.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,085,360.02. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 247,924 shares of company stock valued at $5,879,369. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.6%

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.35. 301,580 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,283,990. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.34 and a fifty-two week high of $26.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $22.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.83.

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.