Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Shares Down 6.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Maplight Therapeutics shares fell 6.4% to $12.43 on Friday, with trading volume down 77% from its average. The stock remains well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $34.42, although recent targets have varied sharply from $24 to $36.
• The clinical-stage biotech missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting a loss of $1.34 per share versus the expected $0.91 loss. Insider activity was mixed, with a director buying shares while insiders sold about $3.9 million worth over the past three months.

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) dropped 6.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $12.30 and last traded at $12.43. Approximately 102,568 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 453,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MPLT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Maplight Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Maplight Therapeutics from $43.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Monday, July 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.42.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Down 7.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $523.16 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.77.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.91) by ($0.43). As a group, analysts forecast that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maplight Therapeutics

In related news, Director Troy Cox bought 15,620 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.52 per share, for a total transaction of $148,702.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 15,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,702.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider James Woodruff Lillie sold 22,082 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.54, for a total transaction of $276,908.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 202,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,537,845.20. This trade represents a 9.84% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 154,297 shares of company stock worth $3,912,656. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $70,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $172,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source