Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CPRX Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 10.6%, selling 12,393 shares, and now holds approximately $2.54 million in the company.
• Insider transactions include Steve Miller selling 115,000 shares and CEO Richard J. Daly selling 22,970 shares, indicating a notable decrease in ownership for both executives.
• A recent downgrade from Zacks Research changed the rating of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from "strong-buy" to "hold", whereas Cantor Fitzgerald and Wall Street Zen issued conflicting ratings.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,699 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 12,393 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals worth $2,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,494,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,568,791 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,741,000 after acquiring an additional 913,843 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,185,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 963.5% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 724,091 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $17,559,000 after purchasing an additional 656,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. 79.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CPRX shares. Zacks Research downgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Catalyst Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $33.20.

Insider Transactions at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Preethi Sundaram sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total transaction of $61,376.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,127,205.21. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard J. Daly sold 22,970 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.62, for a total value of $473,641.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 226,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,676,492.28. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 167,894 shares of company stock valued at $3,434,690 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of CPRX stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,504,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,453,339. The business's fifty day moving average is $20.96 and its 200-day moving average is $22.48. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.85. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.00 and a 1-year high of $26.58.

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.