Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Sees Large Volume Increase on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Maplight Therapeutics shares saw a notable jump in trading volume after Needham & Company raised its price target from $42 to $45 and reiterated a buy rating.
• Several other analysts remain bullish, with the stock carrying a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $39.10, though one firm recently trimmed its target slightly.
• Despite the positive analyst sentiment, Maplight reported a wider-than-expected loss of $1.34 per share in its latest quarter, and insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Friday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $42.00 to $45.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Approximately 394,849 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the previous session's volume of 285,305 shares.The stock last traded at $37.43 and had previously closed at $39.80.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Maplight Therapeutics from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Craig Hallum cut their price target on Maplight Therapeutics from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Maplight Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maplight Therapeutics

In other news, insider Erin Pennock Foff sold 4,438 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $126,660.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 346,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,876,523.86. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Vishwas Setia sold 10,564 shares of Maplight Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total transaction of $298,327.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 356,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,060,669.44. The trade was a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 495,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,461 over the last quarter. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP bought a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $5,745,000. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $6,835,000. Seven Grand Managers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,756,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,026,000.

Maplight Therapeutics Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.53 and a 200-day moving average of $23.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion and a PE ratio of -0.93.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.91) by ($0.43). As a group, equities research analysts predict that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.13 EPS for the current year.

Maplight Therapeutics Company Profile

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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