Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Maplight Therapeutics from “strong sell” to “sell,” while analyst opinions remain mixed. The stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $29.67, despite recent target cuts from Morgan Stanley and UBS.
• Maplight shares opened at $11.75, near the lower end of their 12-month range of $9.10 to $40.43, with a market capitalization of approximately $500.8 million.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of -$1.32, beating analyst expectations of -$1.40; analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $5.22 per share. An insider director also purchased 15,620 shares, while another insider sold shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MPLT. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Maplight Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $52.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. Craig Hallum reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.67.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ MPLT opened at $11.75 on Friday. Maplight Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $9.10 and a 12 month high of $40.43. The company has a market cap of $500.79 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.49.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($1.32) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.40) by $0.08. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Maplight Therapeutics will post -5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Maplight Therapeutics

In other news, Director Troy Cox bought 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 transaction, the director directly owned 15,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,702.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider James Woodruff Lillie sold 22,082 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.54, for a total value of $276,908.28. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 202,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,537,845.20. This trade represents a 9.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $70,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $93,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $172,000.

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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