Corcept Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CORT) Shares Climb 5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Corcept Therapeutics shares rose 5% to about $90.13 in mid-day trading, although volume was 89% below the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $138.17 average price target, despite one recent “underperform” rating with a $50 target.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.36 per share and revenue of $256.15 million, up 31.7% year over year; however, insiders have sold roughly $52.8 million in shares over the past 90 days.

Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ:CORT - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 5% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $91.12 and last traded at $90.1290. Approximately 164,303 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,468,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CORT. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Corcept Therapeutics from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Corcept Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Corcept Therapeutics from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Corcept Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Corcept Therapeutics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.17.

Corcept Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 206.83 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.36.

Corcept Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CORT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.34. Corcept Therapeutics had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $256.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 31.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Corcept Therapeutics

In related news, insider Sean Maduck sold 30,955 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.58, for a total value of $3,887,328.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,225,032.90. The trade was a 76.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David L. Mahoney sold 103,606 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.25, for a total transaction of $12,251,409.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,133,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $134,040,986.75. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 454,748 shares of company stock worth $52,786,210. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corcept Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Corcept Therapeutics by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 14,007 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Corcept Therapeutics by 1.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,617 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $923,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Corcept Therapeutics by 29.5% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 816 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in shares of Corcept Therapeutics by 6.1% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,329 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Corcept Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.61% of the company's stock.

About Corcept Therapeutics

Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated NASDAQ: CORT is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines that selectively modulate the glucocorticoid receptor. The company's research is based on the role of excess cortisol in metabolic, psychiatric, oncologic and other serious medical conditions.

Corcept's primary marketed product is Korlym (mifepristone), an oral glucocorticoid receptor antagonist approved in the United States to control hyperglycemia secondary to endogenous Cushing's syndrome in adults with type 2 diabetes or glucose intolerance who are not candidates for surgery or have not responded adequately to surgery.

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