Northern Trust Corp Acquires 119,766 Shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,503,566 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 119,766 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.26% of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals worth $31,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,696 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 14,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 312,320 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,518,000 after buying an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 35,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 18,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. 79.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CPRX. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. Baird R W raised Catalyst Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $32.29.

Insider Transactions at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Brian Elsbernd sold 62,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $1,447,165.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 188,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,333,200.72. This represents a 25.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gary Ingenito sold 44,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.09, for a total value of $991,929.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 68,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,521,404.57. The trade was a 39.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 351,879 shares of company stock valued at $8,214,815 over the last ninety days. 10.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

CPRX traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 331,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,106,236. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.75 and a twelve month high of $26.16. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $23.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.70.

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.