HC Wainwright Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Stock Price

Key Points

• HC Wainwright cut Maplight Therapeutics’ price target to $26 from $45 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying 162.63% upside from the prior close. The analyst consensus remains “Buy,” with an average target of $37.25.
• Maplight shares opened at $9.90, down 72.9%, near their 52-week low of $9.90 and well below the 52-week high of $40.43. The company also reported a quarterly EPS loss of $1.34, missing the $0.91 loss consensus.
• Insiders sold 379,987 shares worth approximately $10.6 million over the past 90 days, though the reported transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright from $45.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. HC Wainwright's target price points to a potential upside of 162.63% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $21.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Maplight Therapeutics from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $37.25.

Maplight Therapeutics Trading Down 72.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MPLT opened at $9.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $421.94 million and a PE ratio of -0.24. Maplight Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $9.90 and a 1-year high of $40.43. The business's 50 day moving average is $31.83 and its 200-day moving average is $25.03.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.34) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.91) by ($0.43). On average, sell-side analysts predict that Maplight Therapeutics will post -5.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Vishwas Setia sold 10,564 shares of Maplight Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total value of $298,327.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 356,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,060,669.44. The trade was a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider James Woodruff Lillie sold 24,811 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $713,564.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 243,450 shares in the company, valued at $7,001,622. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 379,987 shares of company stock worth $10,644,411. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPLT. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $70,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $93,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $172,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000.

About Maplight Therapeutics

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of patients suffering from debilitating central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We were founded by globally recognized leaders in psychiatry and neuroscience research to address the lack of circuit-specific pharmacotherapies available for patients. Our discovery platform holds the potential to fill this void by identifying neural circuits causally linked to disease and targeting those circuits for therapeutic modulation.

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