Short Interest in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) Drops By 9.9%

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,830,000 shares, a drop of 9.9% from the February 29th total of 6,470,000 shares. Currently, 5.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CPRX traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.26. 1,095,395 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,502,668. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.26. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $11.09 and a twelve month high of $18.22.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $110.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.78 million. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 17.93%. Equities research analysts predict that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CPRX. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, March 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $26.43.

Insider Activity at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Brian Elsbernd sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.44, for a total value of $411,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 124,433 shares in the company, valued at $2,045,678.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,851,862 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $213,049,000 after buying an additional 491,552 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,453,077 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $127,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,359 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,120,417 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $119,694,000 after acquiring an additional 73,930 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 134.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,723,895 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $19,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560,086 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,601,797 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $43,738,000 after acquiring an additional 41,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.22% of the company's stock.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies for people with rare debilitating, chronic neuromuscular, and neurological diseases in the United States. It offers Firdapse, an amifampridine phosphate tablets for the treatment of patients with lambert-eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS); and Ruzurgi for the treatment of pediatric LEMS patients.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.