Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Maplight Therapeutics a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating (1 sell, 1 hold, 6 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $32.67.
• Company insiders—directors George Pavlov and Timothy Garnett—recently purchased shares at about $17.48–$17.89 each, though insiders were net sellers in the past three months (39,124 shares bought vs. 74,612 sold); meanwhile several institutions initiated large Q4 stakes, including FCPM III ($56.7M), T. Rowe Price ($49.2M) and Goldman Sachs ($34.0M).
• Maplight reported a sizable quarterly EPS miss (loss of $2.47 vs. consensus -$1.05), trades near $28.95 with a market cap of $1.23B, a negative P/E, and a 52‑week range of $12.24–$31.13.

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.6667.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MPLT. Weiss Ratings began coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a "sell (e)" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Maplight Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company.

Insider Transactions at Maplight Therapeutics

In related news, Director George Pavlov bought 10,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $186,301.84. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $186,301.84. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy John Garnett bought 14,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.89 per share, with a total value of $252,678.36. Following the acquisition, the director owned 14,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $252,678.36. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 39,124 shares of company stock worth $693,846 and have sold 74,612 shares worth $1,368,065.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLT. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. purchased a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,672,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $49,154,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $34,026,000. Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $17,060,000. Finally, 5AM Venture Management LLC acquired a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $16,687,000.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MPLT opened at $28.95 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.15. Maplight Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $12.24 and a fifty-two week high of $31.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion and a P/E ratio of -0.73.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported ($2.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($1.42). Research analysts expect that Maplight Therapeutics will post -3.87 EPS for the current year.

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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