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

Key Points

• Maplight Therapeutics shares gapped down from a prior close of $12.17 to open at $11.06, later trading around $12.40 on volume of roughly 150,000 shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive but has weakened: UBS downgraded the stock to “neutral” with a $13 target, while the average analyst rating is “Moderate Buy” with a $31.17 price target.
• The clinical-stage biotech reported a quarterly loss of $1.34 per share, missing expectations by $0.43, and analysts forecast a full-year loss of $5.22 per share. Insider activity was mixed, with a director buying shares while the CEO sold stock under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $12.17, but opened at $11.06. Maplight Therapeutics shares last traded at $12.3950, with a volume of 150,226 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lowered Maplight Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Maplight Therapeutics from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Maplight Therapeutics from $43.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.17.

Maplight Therapeutics Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $524.95 million and a PE ratio of -0.30.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last announced 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). On average, equities research analysts predict that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Maplight Therapeutics

In other news, Director Troy Cox acquired 15,620 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.52 per share, with a total value of $148,702.40. Following 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 this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. Kroeger sold 118,235 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total transaction of $3,214,809.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,394,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,905,415.86. The trade was a 7.82% 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. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000.

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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