Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Hits New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Maplight Therapeutics shares hit a new 52-week high intraday at $33.28 (last $32.13) on heavy volume (~608,806) and were trading up about 16.3%.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but leans positive: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $32.67, while individual targets run as high as $37 and several firms recently initiated Buy ratings despite some Sell/Hold calls.
• Fundamentals remain weak — the company reported an EPS loss of ($2.47) vs. ($1.05) expected and has a negative P/E with a -3.87 EPS forecast for the year; insiders made purchases (a director bought 14,124 shares at $17.89) but net insider activity in the last 90 days shows more shares sold than bought.

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $33.28 and last traded at $32.13, with a volume of 608806 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPLT has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Maplight Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a "sell (e)" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.67.

Maplight Therapeutics Trading Up 16.3%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.63. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.81.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported ($2.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($1.42). On average, equities research analysts predict that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Maplight Therapeutics

In related news, Director Timothy John Garnett acquired 14,124 shares of Maplight Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.89 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Malenka sold 11,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.42, for a total transaction of $207,482.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 325,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,001,143.90. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 39,124 shares of company stock worth $693,846 and have sold 74,612 shares worth $1,368,065.

Institutional Trading of Maplight Therapeutics

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