Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CPRX Position Boosted by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its ownership in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 33.5% during the first quarter, now holding shares valued at approximately $10.68 million.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, with Cantor Fitzgerald recommending a "strong-buy," while Zacks Research downgraded it from "strong-buy" to "hold." The average target price for the stock is currently $33.20.
• Insiders have sold 167,894 shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the last three months, representing a slight decrease in ownership among insiders who collectively own 10.40% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Free Report) by 33.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 440,523 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 110,543 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.36% of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals worth $10,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CPRX. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 26.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 57.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,501 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In other Catalyst Pharmaceuticals news, insider Steve Miller sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total transaction of $2,332,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 949,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,259,165.64. This trade represents a 10.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Tierney sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total transaction of $525,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 379,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,668,324. The trade was a 6.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 167,894 shares of company stock worth $3,434,690. 10.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $20.54. 1,504,350 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,453,339. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.00 and a twelve month high of $26.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.48. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.85.

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.