LB Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LBRX) Stock Jumps 8.8% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• LB Pharmaceuticals shares jumped 8.8% to about $37, despite trading volume running 64% below its average.
• Analyst views are broadly positive: 10 analysts rate the stock Buy, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $57.40, though some firms recently downgraded or raised concerns.
• The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is developing LB-102, an oral prodrug aimed at treating schizophrenia, but it reported a quarterly EPS loss of $1.71 versus the expected $0.84 loss.

LB Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:LBRX - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 8.8% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $37.37 and last traded at $36.9980. Approximately 101,180 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 282,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Roth Capital downgraded LB Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on LB Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on LB Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on LB Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, October 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut LB Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LB Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.40.

LB Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion and a P/E ratio of -10.78.

LB Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LBRX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($1.71) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.84) by ($0.87). Equities analysts anticipate that LB Pharmaceuticals Inc will post -5.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LB Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Spruce Street Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of LB Pharmaceuticals by 36.9% in the 1st quarter. Spruce Street Capital LP now owns 1,376,159 shares of the company's stock worth $33,645,000 after purchasing an additional 370,566 shares in the last quarter. Eversept Partners LP bought a new position in shares of LB Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $2,471,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in LB Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 58,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 6,251 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of LB Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,784,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in shares of LB Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $1,613,000.

About LB Pharmaceuticals

LB Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for central nervous system and neuropsychiatric disorders. The company's lead product candidate is LB-102, an oral prodrug of amisulpride, an established antipsychotic medicine that is approved in certain countries outside the United States but is not currently approved in the U.S.

LB-102 is being developed for the treatment of schizophrenia, with the company seeking to evaluate its potential to address the needs of patients and healthcare providers in the U.S.

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