Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Stock Price Up 12.8% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 12.8% to about $31.14 on Wednesday (intraday high $31.65) on roughly 79,636 shares traded, about 63% below the stock’s average daily volume.
• Analyst coverage is mixed—six Buys, one Strong Buy, one Hold and two Sells—resulting in an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $32.67.
• The company reported a large EPS miss for the quarter (−$2.47 vs. −$1.05 expected) and forecasts negative FY EPS, even as institutions like Goldman Sachs added sizable new positions while insiders were net sellers over the past 90 days.

Shares of Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) were up 12.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $31.65 and last traded at $31.1440. Approximately 79,636 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 212,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPLT. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Maplight Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a "sell (e)" rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.67.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion and a P/E ratio of -0.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.35.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported ($2.47) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($1.42). As a group, analysts forecast that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Maplight Therapeutics

In other Maplight Therapeutics news, Director Robert C. Malenka sold 11,264 shares of Maplight Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.42, for a total value of $207,482.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 325,795 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,001,143.90. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Pavlov purchased 9,920 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.86 per share, with a total value of $177,171.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $446,500. The trade was a 65.78% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 39,124 shares of company stock worth $693,846 and sold 74,612 shares worth $1,368,065.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPLT. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP acquired a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,745,000. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,835,000. Seven Grand Managers LLC purchased a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,756,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $34,026,000.

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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