Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Maplight Therapeutics shares surged amid extraordinary volume: About 4.25 million shares traded, up 982% from the prior session, while the stock rose to $11.845 from $9.90.
• The company reported positive Phase 2 ZEPHYR results for ML-007C-MA in schizophrenia, with the primary endpoint met, improvements in cognitive and other measures, and generally favorable tolerability. The results support another potentially registrational trial and future FDA discussions.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly bullish, with a consensus Buy rating and $34.42 target price, although several firms recently lowered targets. Risks include a quarterly EPS miss, projected full-year losses, and substantial insider selling under pre-arranged plans.

Shares of Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 4,247,610 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 982% from the previous session's volume of 392,687 shares.The stock last traded at $11.8450 and had previously closed at $9.90.

Trending Headlines about Maplight Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplight Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright lowered its price target to $26 from $45 but maintained a Buy rating, implying significant potential upside from recent trading levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: MapLight reported that the 210/3 mg twice-daily dose of its investigational schizophrenia treatment, ML-007C-MA (betovumeline/fesoterodine), met the Phase 2 ZEPHYR trial’s primary endpoint. The treatment also showed improvements on cognitive performance and other schizophrenia measures, was generally well tolerated, and supports another potentially registrational trial and discussions with the FDA. MapLight Phase 2 results
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its Equal Weight rating while setting a $21 price target, still well above recent levels despite reducing its target from $34. Benzinga

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Maplight Therapeutics from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Maplight Therapeutics from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Maplight Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.42.

Maplight Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $520.01 million and a P/E ratio of -0.30.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Erin Pennock Foff sold 24,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $691,735.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 350,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,080,293.72. This trade represents a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider James Woodruff Lillie sold 24,811 shares of Maplight Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $713,564.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 243,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 379,987 shares of company stock valued at $10,644,411 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

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

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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